Phoenix and the Beast
by TAstars
Summary: This is Prince Keith's story with my OC, Phoenix. From the start, Phoenix and Keith butt heads. After some misunderstandings, Phoenix ends up at Liberty Manse with the pompous prince. During her stay, Phoenix and Keith grow closer. But Phoenix has a secret she can't let anyone know. Will that secret be their growing relationship's undoing? Please read "Phoenix Prologue" first.
1. 1) Offending the Beast

**Disclaimer: I don't own Be My Princess, its princes, thier kingdoms, and their butlers. Only Phoenix, the Kingdom of Noreric, and its people are mine. **

I turned to see Prince Keith. _Him?! Why is __**HE**__asking me?_ I felt the shock showing on my face.

"Oh, it's you, my mistake. I guess any commoner can look the part from behind in the right attire." Prince Keith said, looking slightly perplexed.

_Seriously? How rude! If he wants me to say yes, he's doing a terrible job at flattery._ I could feel the shock turn into a glare.

"Well?" Prince Keith, I could tell, was getting slightly annoyed.

"Oh! Well, I..." _Should I tell him I can't dance?_

I could see a glint of amusement in his eyes. "Are you too amazed that you were asked by me to answer?"

"Hardly!" I said while roughly shaking his hand off my shoulder. _Ugh, this guy's ego..._ "You see the fact is that I-"

"It doesn't matter. We've already drawn enough attention. You can't turn me down now. Unless you want to shame me? How would that look, a commoner turning down a prince?" He cut me off. I looked around the ballroom.

Just as he said, every woman's eyes were on us. I could see the disgust in their stares. Also, I could see Uncle looking at us, going pale as he watched me with the prince.

"That is not my intention, but do I have no choice in this matter? What about the freedom to do as I please?" I ask still upset. _This isn't fair._

"Well, this isn't America, for one. Two, you should be honored that I even asked you." He put his hand out, palm up, waiting to receive my hand.

_As if I'm going to take his... _As I was thinking this, he grabbed my hand and pulled me out onto the floor. _NO!_

I couldn't believe how strong he was. I was resisting as best I could without making a scene, although it was too late for that. We stopped in the middle of the dance floor, then let go of my hand. The music started to play, as we faced each other, he bowed and I curtsied. Prince Keith again offered his hand for me to take.

"I've never danced this way before." I whispered looking down at the floor.

"That's why?" Prince Keith whispered. I heard him snickering.

_Huh? Is he laughing at me? _Before I could react he took my hand in his again and put his other hand at my waist pulling me closer to him. I knew I was to put my other hand on his shoulder, and did so.

"Look at me, Phoenix, and follow my lead." Prince Keith almost sounded gentle even though it was a command, and we began to dance. "Only one dance." He added roughly.

I did as I was told. Though looking past his head behind him. I kept trying to keep up with him.

"You've never really danced like this before?" He asked me, stunned.

I gave a small nod. _I know this must look bad._ "We don't dance like this in America, unless you want to take a class for this specific style." I told him, still avoiding his eyes.

"Look me in the eyes." Prince Keith commanded.

I did as he said. _Oh, wow! His eyes are gorgeous! No, I can't think that way!_ I could feel the blush creep onto my cheeks.

Prince Keith was smirking as if he could read my mind. "Are you not filled with happiness that the first man to touch you like this is me?"

I rolled my eyes. _Ignore it and keep dancing._ It took all my will power not to walk away right then. "Only in your dreams would I be filled with happiness about that." I mustered to continue dancing with him.

I could tell he hadn't expected that comeback. "You have quite the mouth on you." Prince Keith said, which reminded me that I was only a commoner to him. It wasn't my place to, in his eyes, be so forward.

_Shit. This is not going well._ As I was thinking that, the music stopped and Prince Keith released me when the last note ended. _Wow, he wasn't kidding about the one dance_. _Fine. By. Me._ I saw Uncle on the sidelines of the dance floor beckoning me to get over there.

"Thank you for the dance." I gave a quick curtsey and started walking away. Unfortunately, a swarm of women surrounded Prince Keith, and I got caught in the middle of it. "Quit shoving, please!" I tried to work my way to the back of the crowd, but somehow ended up in the front, close to Prince Keith.

I saw an opening close by. _Perfect! _I started forward, but my heel got caught in my dress causing me to trip. _Not again!_ I put my hands out to catch my fall and closed my eyes. The impact wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Actually, it wasn't as far as I thought it would be either. _Why is it so quiet?_ I peeked open my eyes and saw a man's chest and felt strong arms around me. _Good._ Until I looked into the chest's owner's face. _Not good!_

It was Prince Keith, who looked astounded that it was me. Then his face hardened. "You!" He uttered, grabbed my wrist roughly, and pulled me out into the corridor. I looked to where Uncle had been, he wasn't there anymore. _Where is he? _The ballroom was in an uproar over what just happened, as we left.

"What do you think you were doing?" Prince Keith asked barely getting it out through gritted teeth.

"I-I'm sorry, Your Highness, but I was trying to get away when my shoe got caught in my dress and the next thing I knew I was falling..." I tried to explain. Something obviously pissed him off, but what?

"In my country, after you dance with someone, if one embraces the other and the other returns it, it is considered a proposal for marriage." He had his hand covering his face not wanting to look at me.

"What!" _No way! No way in hell, would I want to propose to this pompous prince!_ "Isn't that a bit ridiculous? To become engaged in that way?" I asked grasping for straws.

"It's not in practice much anymore, but it's still used in the upper circles of my nation." I could tell he was completely exasperated with me.

"But it was an accident! I tripped!" _This cannot be happening!_

"Phoenix!" Uncle appeared with Tarmo and Onni behind him.

"Uncle!" I couldn't be happier to see anyone at this moment.

"Uncle?" Prince Keith looked at my Uncle.

"She's only a close family friend's daughter, who I'm watching over while she's away from home. I brought her here, so I shall take responsibility for her actions. I am greatly sorry Prince Keith, for any trouble she has caused you tonight." Uncle made a quick bow.

"She's already insulted me several times, then this incident. If I didn't know any better, I would think she is plotting against me."

"Again, I'm sorry for Phoenix. She's not used to these types of events, nor does she know about other countries traditions."

"This is the second strike against her. What if there is a third?" Prince Keith asked still unconvinced.

"If Phoenix were to do something else offending to Liberty or its prince in any way, I will allow you to choose a punishment for her. I give you my word." Uncle says calmly.

_Uncle?_ I look in his direction worried._He can't be serious!_ He looked as cool as a cucumber. I almost felt that Uncle were playing with Prince Keith.

"Alright then. I will go get this mess straightened out. Please keep her out of my sights." Prince Keith said as he left.

_Ugh!_ I wanted to open my mouth and give him a piece of my mind, but before I could utter a word, Onni and Tarmo covered my mouth with their hands. Once Prince Keith was out of our sights, Uncle spoke.

"Phoenix, go back to your room and get ready to depart." Uncle said sternly. My feeling was right. Uncle had already decided we were leaving, and if I'm not here, I can't do anything to offend His Royal Highness.

I pulled my butlers' hands from my mouth. "Alright." I said resigned.

We parted ways there. I was tired and ready to leave anyway.

As I was walking back to my room I heard a group of women coming towards me. I hid behind a pillar so I wouldn't be seen.

"Can you believe that girl, throwing herself all over Prince Keith, what a slut." One girl said. _Okay, that stung a little._

"Do you think they're really engaged?" Another asked.

I heard laughter from the others. "As if. She's a total nobody. Prince Keith wouldn't be marrying her."

"Plus she's so plain!" I dug my nails into the pillar to keep myself rooted to the spot. If it weren't for the fact that I was on such a short lease already... _And I am not plain!_ That was one of the last words anyone would use to describe me.

They finally walked out of my earshot and I could no longer hear their footsteps. I then heard a crashing sound coming from the way the women went. _What was that?_ Without much thought, I walked towards the sound of the noise.

_Oh no!_ There was shards of crystal all over the floor. _I think it was a vase. What should I do? Should I go get someone to clean this up?_

As I was thinking of what to do, I heard some more footsteps, then heard some gasps of unbelief to my back. I turned and wanted to die._Not again! Not him!_

There stood Prince Keith and his butler Luke with identical looks of horror. I had a bad feeling about this vase. That bad feeling was soon confirmed.

"The vase from the past King of Liberty given to Lord Micheal! Ruined!" Luke said looking at the pieces on the floor horrified.

_Damn my curiosity! If only I had ignored the noise and gone to my room as Uncle told me to do._

"You!" Prince Keith was in shock at seeing me. "You did this?" He started toward me.

I took steps back with every one of his coming towards me. "I didn't do this! I was going to my room when I heard the crash, and came to see what it was, I swear!"_This is bad!_

"Third strike! Luke, she's coming with us!" Prince Keith yelled. He was beyond pissed.

Not gonna lie. I'm scared. I could feel the fear showing on my face. "But...But..."

"No. Your uncle said if you did anything else against me tonight, I could punish you. You're coming to Liberty, so I can keep an eye on you." With that he started to walk away.

"Shouldn't it be the other way around?" I asked without thinking.

He stopped and turned. "Explain?" He commanded.

"Shouldn't my punishment be to stay away from you and Liberty?"

"So then you can plan other ways to insult me? No, you're coming so I can keep you in line." With that he turned on his heel and rounded the corner.

"Come with me." Luke somewhat roughly grabbed my arm and pulled me along.

"Can I at least let my Uncle know what happened?" I asked Luke. _Maybe Uncle could get me out of this?_ But I already doubted that possibility. He gave his word to Prince Keith. It wouldn't look good to go back on it.

"Phoenix!" Before Luke could even respond, Tarmo was running after us. "Luke, let her go!"

"I can't. They're my orders from His Highness. She is to come to Liberty so he can keep an eye on her." Luke said regretfully.

"But-" Tarmo looked worried.

"His Majesty said if I did anything else, Prince Keith would be allowed to give me a punishment. But I didn't do it!" I told him pleadingly.

"Phoenix, what happened?" Tarmo asked calmly.

"I was on my way back to my room, when I heard a group of women coming, so I hid behind a pillar. Once they were gone, I came out and heard a noise of something shattering. So, I went to see what it was. It was a vase that was a present to Noble Micheal from Liberty. I was trying to figure out what to do, when Prince Keith and Luke showed up and they thought I did it." I explained calmly.

"There you have it, Luke. She didn't break the vase!" Tarmo said putting a hand on Luke's, prying his hand of my arm.

"That is only her word, which His Highness does not believe. So as far as we know she is responsible." Luke said re-grabbing my arm and starting down the hallway again.

"Phoenix!" _Uh-oh!_ I could hear the outrage in Uncle's voice. Luke stopped upon seeing him. "How could you! After I told you to go to your room and get ready to leave, you go and do something else to that prince!" I could see Onni following behind Uncle.

"_I _didn't do anything! It's all a misunderstanding!" I was ready to just cry. I was so irritated and scared of what was happening.

"Then why is he taking you to Liberty?" Uncle asked. Apparently he was somewhat filled in.

"A vase got broken. I heard the noise and went to see what it was, then Prince Keith and Luke showed up and blamed me, and won't listen to me, when I say 'I'm innocent!'" I hung my head once I was finished.

"Since he doesn't believe you, that makes it your third strike. I gave my word, so my hands are tied at the moment. But I'll come for you as soon as I can. Please don't do anything to get yourself executed!" I wasn't sure if he was pleading or joking.

"Executed?!"

"The vase could be considered enough of a charge, as it is, but I'm sure His Highness has something different planned." Luke tried to reassure me and Uncle. "Now, we must be going. Unless, you want His Highness angrier at us."

"Take her. Please take good care of her. She is important to me." Uncle pleaded with Luke.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Luke bowed and took me to the limo where an upset Prince Keith sat fuming.

"It's about time!" Prince Keith yelled once we were in the car.

"Sorry, Your Highness. His Majesty needed to have a word with her." Luke told him.

"Fine! Let's go!"

That was all that was said the whole way back to Liberty. Prince Keith just looked out the car window. Once we got to the jet, he ignored me and looked out the window again.

I guess it was better that way. It didn't allow us a chance to talk, for me to say something else to piss him off further, and get myself executed. But the silence was terrible. I was left alone with my thoughts to roam wild with what Prince Keith would do for my punishment, because I was sure taking me to Liberty wasn't all he planned to do.

~)~~~~

Once we arrived at the manse, I was lead down countless halls by Luke and Prince Keith. We stopped outside a door. Luke opened it and gestured for me to enter.

It was was quite grand. Not as nice as my room at the palace, but definitely better than my apartment. _Seriously? I thought I was in trouble?_

Prince Keith was watching me, and guessed what I was thinking. "This is probably more than what a commoner is used to. Technically you're a guest, but you have to deal with your punishment. For that punishment, you're to serve here as a maid." He said smugly.

_SAY WHAT!?I can't believe this! A MAID! He's kidding right?!_ I could feel the utter shock on my face.

"So get a good rest, because tomorrow, the work begins. Luke, give her what we discussed earlier." Keith kept going, looking proud of himself.

"Of course, Your Highness." Luke handed me a cell phone.

"Huh? I already have a phone." I was completely dumbstruck by this offering.

"It has a tracker in it, so I can always know where you are and get a hold of you. You are to keep it on you at all times." Prince Keith explained matter-o-factly.

I wasn't quite sure what was about to come out of my mouth, but as soon as I opened it to give him a piece of my mind, Prince Keith added, "Remember your place, and _why_ you are here." I closed my mouth and he continued. "You _will_ wear this, and your uniform, which you will receive tomorrow, and you _will_ do as you are told, without complaint."

Remembering what I had talked about with Uncle, I mutely nodded my head.

"Good! Let's go, Luke!" Prince Keith turned on his heel and walked out the door, with Luke quietly following behind. Once the door shut, I flung myself on the bed. I could feel the tears coming now.

_I'm such an idiot! Why couldn't I have just kept my mouth shut? Why did I have to let him get under my skin? Why did this have to happen to me?_

I quietly sobbed into my pillow, using it to muffle the sounds of my sobs. Soon I was asleep. My last thoughts being: _If I'm stuck here, I will make the best of it. I will prove to that prince that he was wrong about me...if it's the last thing I do. He will not get the best of me, either._

That was how I ended up at Liberty Kingdom with its pompous prince.

**So what do you guys think? Please review, and let me know what you think!**


	2. 2) Let the Games Begin

**Here's the second chapter! Please R&R! Disclaimor: I don't own Be My Princess or its characters, only Phoenix, Noreric Kingdom and its people.**

One thing you should know, I'm a heavy sleeper. So it takes a lot for someone to wake me up. Two, I **love** my sleep, so I don't like to be woken up. Three, I need at least seven hours of sleep, or else you don't want to be around me, because I'm that bad.

So when I felt the blanket being ripped from my grip and off my body, and heard, "Miss Hendrickson, WAKE UP!" Coming from a male voice, I was not a happy camper.

"Go away!" I instinctively thrust my hand out and felt as my hand connected to someone.

"OW! My nose!" The man complained. Then I felt a hard shove and fell off my bed.

_WHAT THE HELL!?_ I was awake and beyond pissed now. "What was that for!?" I took in the fact that the lights were on, it was still dark outside, and Luke was standing on the other side of the bed, holding, a slowly turning red, white handkerchief to his nose. Seeing the blood calmed me down.

"I'm so sorry!" I jumped back onto the bed, kneeling in front of Luke, and tried to get a look at the damage I caused to his nose.

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed you off your bed. That was taking it too far." He bowed his head and smacked my frantic hands away with the hand not holding the handkerchief. "Really, I'm fine, and I deserved it. I should have figured out you weren't a morning person when you didn't even react to any of my previous attempts to wake you."

"You tried other things?" I asked him. His nose stopped bleeding then. It didn't look broken, luckily, though it was bruising a little.

"Well turning the lights on didn't phase you at all. Then I called your name several times before, and I shook you a couple times." He was really embarrassed yet exasperated at the same time.

I gave him a small smile. _That sounds like me._ I glanced at the bedside clock and saw that it was 6:15! "Why are you getting me up at the crack of dawn?" I asked.

"It was His Highness's order that you be up before the sun rises." Luke looked away as if he didn't want to have had to do it. Which I gave him a bloody nose, so he probably wished he didn't.

"Alright. I'm awake. So now what?" I ask coolly, remembering Keith's words from the night before.

"I'll go fetch your uniform. So you may shower now. Then I will give you a tour of the manse." Luke said, before quickly leaving the room.

_Alright. This can't get any worse can it?_

~)~~~~

_I just had to ask myself that question! Yes, it can get worse!_ And it did. After I got out of the shower and changed into my uniform, that Luke had left on my bed, I realized just how much worse it had gotten.

It fit perfectly. Except in length. I knew it felt short, but when I looked in the mirror, I was shocked. The skirt went only an inch past my ass. _NO WAY! No way am I working around the manse in this!_ It might not have been so bad if my legs didn't take up over half my body. I am like 2/3 legs. Not kidding. My volleyball coach even nicknamed me 'Legs'.

I went to the door, and cracked it open enough to get my head through. "Luke, there's a problem with this uniform. Can I get another one?" I ask nicely. Biting my tongue to keep from saying anything mean.

"I'm sorry, what's wrong with your uniform?" He asked, coming closer to the door to get a look at me.

"NO!" It was too late. He pushed the door open and Luke went bright red when he saw me. "I can't work in this." I look down at the floor, feeling a blush creeping onto my cheeks as well. _This is absolutely embarrassing._

"I'm afraid we won't be able to get another uniform for you until tomorrow." Luke wouldn't look at me. I wasn't sure if it made me feel better or worse.

"Then can you get me some tights, shorts, or something to wear underneath _this_?!" I ask pointing to my skirt.

"Yes! I'll go get something right away!" Luke ran out the door, and pulled it shut behind him. I let myself smile a little, at how quickly Luke ran out of the room.

He returned with some black athletic spandex shorts that easily went halfway down my thighs. "Is that better?" He asked, now looking at me when I exited the bathroom.

"Yes. Thank you, Luke." I give a small bow of gratitude.

"I'm sorry. I knew His Highness had asked them to alter your uniform, but I thought he wanted them to lengthen it." Luke looked down at the ground.

Our relationship had become so awkward in such a short amount of time. I could tell he wanted to be mean to me, because of what I had (in their minds) done. But Prince Keith was making it very difficult for me, which only made Luke feel sorry for me. Plus, Luke promised my Uncle he would look after me, so that must weigh on his mind too.

"It's okay. This is the game he wants to play? So be it. I'll tell you now, though, I don't intend to lose." I walked out of my room into the hall and looked back at Luke. "I have no idea where I'm going, so if you could start the tour, I'd greatly appreciate it." I give him a smile.

"Right." Luke gave me a grateful smile. "This way, Miss Hendrickson."

~)~~~~

"Okay. That's everywhere." Luke had shown me around the entire manse which had taken us over an hour to do. It was now a little after 8. He had ended our tour in a random hall.

"Um...Could you get me a map? Because I still feel that I don't remember where half the rooms are. It would be very helpful, and less time consuming for me, to have a map to rely on for directions." If I was to be a maid, I was going to at least do my absolute best.

Luke looked surprised by my request. "Yes, I could get one for you." He gave a pause. "Now, your first chore is to clean this hallway. You are to clean it before the royal family eats breakfast. Which is a little less than an hour." He said checking his watch.

"All by myself?" I ask shocked.

"Of course." Luke said calmly. "And I expect it to shine."

"Fine. Challenge accepted. I'll show you a clean hallway." I said walking to where I believed he said was a close supply closet.

"Other way." Luke told me.

"Like I said. I need a map." I replied as I passed him. I heard him chuckle and saw him leave.

_Okay. I can do this._

~)~~~~

(_45 minutes later)_

I was laying on my aching back, to keep it straight. I had finished with a few minutes to spare, and was resting. _I'm glad my mother never thought of this for a punishment_. _And that no floor in my house is bigger than this hallway._ I chuckled to myself at that thought.

"Well, you're still able to laugh." _I know that voice!_ I sat up and saw Prince Keith standing next to Luke.

"Not bad, Miss Hendrickson. It seems I underestimated your cleaning ability." Luke said.

"Oh?" I stood up and ran my hands down my skirt. Prince Keith's eyes narrowed.

"Those aren't part of your uniform." Prince Keith said pointing to my shorts.

"Making me wear such a short skirted uniform was your move, Your Highness. Wearing the shorts is my counter to your move. So, we are currently even." I gave him a victory smirk and stared him down.

He looked away first, and I gave a small smile in that victory. "You see this as a game?" Prince Keith asked seeming a mixture of being impressed and upset at the same time.

"Is that not what you are doing with me? Playing around? Toying with me til I break?" I ask calmly.

A small smile appears on his face. "I didn't think you would catch on so quickly. If you ever would, honestly." _I feel like I might have taken this the wrong way. It feels like he liked my explanation, and decided to say that's what he was doing all along._

"Just know, you're playing fire with fire." I smiled and bowed. "May I please know what my next chore is? I would like to be able to complete it quickly and to satisfactory standards." I kept my head down, waiting.

There was a pause. "Come with me." Luke said, I straightened, and followed him without looking at Prince Keith. Once around the corner and out of the prince's earshot, "Honestly, the way you treat and talk to His Highness is … so unusual and odd. ...You two are like cats and dogs. I've never seen him behave in this way before." Luke shook his head. I silently followed.

Our next destination was the kitchen.

"You will help complete the breakfast preparations, then you may eat your breakfast." Once I could actually think about it, I was starving.

~)~~~~

It was nice working with the chefs. They weren't very welcoming when I first began helping, but by the time we finished, we were all laughing together like friends. They were amazing at their job, and their food was delicious.

Luke collected me after I finished washing the dishes. He than took me out to the gardens, to help the gardener re-pot plants. The gardener was a nice older man who was quiet, unless you asked about the plants then it seemed he could talk forever. But not in a bad way, I actually found the information interesting. Even though I'm not a plant person.

Once I finished helping the gardener, I was resting on a bench waiting for Luke to come retrieve me and take me to my next chore. I knew Luke had to take out extra time of his schedule to ensure I got to my destinations to do the chores, which made me feel bad for him.

"Good, you're already resting." Luke came up to me.

"Does that mean I get a break?" I ask with a smile only turning my head to look at him.

"Yes. 30 minutes. Tonight you will be working as a waitress at a party His Highness is throwing. You'll find that uniform in your room later." I gave Luke a look when he said uniform. "Do not worry. I already ensured that yours would be long enough."

I let our a sigh and laid back down.

"Phoenix!" _Uncle?!_ I sat up straight, looking towards the voice.

Sure enough I see Uncle coming towards us. _Am I daydreaming?_

"I've been trying to get a hold of you all morn-...What are you wearing?!" Uncle had gotten close enough to see my attire.

"My punishment." I say without emotion.

"Luke! What is the meaning of this?! Making my niece work as a maid?" Uncle was clearly upset.

"That is a matter to take up with His Highness." Luke replied smoothly.

"Then I will. Where is he?" Uncle was not happy.

"Uncle, why are you here? Because unless its to take me back, I don't understand a reason for you to come." I tell him. Now that I could actually relax and feel how much pain my body is in, I really was loosing my enthusiasm. _If only I had gotten more sleep._

"I needed to make sure you are fine. I called your mother this morning and she didn't know anything about what had happened."

"You called Mom!" I stood, and started dialing my home number on the phone Prince Keith wanted me to keep on my person at all times.

"Hello?" I heard my mother's voice on the other end.

"Hey, its me." I say weakly, ready to receive her wrath or worry. I wasn't looking forward to either or the numerous questions she was bound to ask.

"Me? As in my daughter who should be at her apartment, studying for class tomorrow? Not at some prince's palace in trouble because of her mouth?" My mother asked. _Ouch. She was really angry with me then. _She only talked to me like this when she was extremely upset.

"It's not 100% my fault. Yes, my mouth got me into trouble, but God played me into this mess. I went to go investigate a noise, and the prince I mouthed off to showed up, and it had been a present from his nation to Lord Micheal, and he thought I did it, so he took me to his nation as kind of a prisoner. He has me working as a maid as my punishment." I tell her.

"WHAT!?" My mother yells in disbelief. "How dare he treat my daughter that way! Does he have any idea who you are?!" My mother was beyond outraged.

"Mom? … Mom? … MOM!" I called throughout her rant.

"What dear?" My mother finally stopped.

"I'm on my break right now. I need to still call the university. I'll talk to you later. Love you. Bye."

"Okay. You better. Love ya, bye." My mom called happily.

I shook my head as I ended the call. I then called the university and explained my current dilemma and they understood, I would just need to keep up on my assignments. When I hung up from that phone call, Uncle approached me with Luke behind him.

"Now that you have your phone calls out of the way. Let's go talk to Prince Keith." I nodded, resigned. I already had an idea of how this would go down, and I wasn't really looking forward to it.

~)~~~~

I was right. It took an hour of counter arguing, which ended in Uncle losing. Luckily Uncle took all of Prince Keith's attention, so he didn't really even notice me. Uncle couldn't go back on his word, and Prince Keith said that I would work as a maid until I learned my lesson. Uncle said he would be making trips to Liberty to check up on me. Prince Keith grudgingly had to allow that since Uncle is a king, even the king of a rival nation. Once they had finished their argument, Uncle said he would see me again soon.

I was then allowed to go get lunch and rest for the remainder of the afternoon, until 5. Then I was to report to Luke, dressed for the party I was supposed to work, and receive my orders.

**So what did you guys think? Let me know, or if you have some ideas for what to happen next, I'd love to hear! So until next time! **


	3. 3) The Party

**A/N: I had a review about this being a crossover. About this being a crossover story: It will have some similar aspects from "Beauty and the Beast", and Phoenix has a guy from her past who will be somewhat like Gaston. So that's why it's classified as a crossover. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Be My Princess or Beauty and the Beast. Figure I had better mention that now. **

**So without futher ado, I present chapter three! Please R&R, and hope you like it!**

As soon as I got in my room, I set my alarm, called my mom, finished our conversation, and fell asleep. I woke up 20 minutes to 5. Once dressed in my uniform; which was a pair of black short shorts over fishnets, a white buttoned blouse with a black vest to go over it, and black high heels. _Seriously? What is with the uniforms in this place? And why do I have to wear heels? These are gonna kill my feet._ I went to where Luke said he would be, which was one of the many ballrooms.

It was like I walked into a casino/club. This ballroom had been decorated to look like a club scene with a dance floor and DJ booth, and casino with slot machines, roulette tables, and card tables. There were other tables around one corner just to sit and relax at. It kind of reminded me of after-prom, only ten times better because it was so much more realistic and classier._This must have cost a fortune._ It was definitely cool, but I felt it was almost too much.

I now noticed Luke with a group of similarly dressed women. _At least this is what I'm supposed to be wearing, and I won't stand out_. As I got closer, I noticed some women's uniforms, instead of a white blouse, had a black beaded bra under the vest. _Glad I didn't have to wear that._ Seeing us all together, made me feel like we were going to be a part of the movie/musical, _Cabaret_. Just not as scantily dressed.

I listened as Luke told us what was expected of us, and how we should treat the guests, and to not get close to His Highness in any inappropriate way. Several of the women, looked disappointed when they heard this rule. And Luke was staring me down when he was talking about His Highness.

"Miss Hendrickson and Miss Smith, you will be given this section to tend to." It was the corner of tables for people to relax at. _Hopefully His Highness will stay in the casino and dance floor area._

I started talking with my fellow waitress for the evening. Her name was Lacey. She's pretty and my age. Lacey is a dirty blonde, with light blue eyes, and is tall and lean. Unfortunately, I learned Lacey, along with every other woman in this kingdom, had a crush on Prince Keith.

"I hope Prince Keith is in our area the most. Then maybe he would notice me with my awesome waitress skills." She smiled dreamily. "Then we could get to know each other, get married, and I would be a princess." _Really doubtful._

"Is that really your dream?" I ask her. "To become Prince Keith's princess?" I asked as I fixed a tablecloth over a table.

"That's every girl's dream. I know it's silly to wish for that. Prince Keith will most likely marry Laura Nicholson." She gave a displeased huff.

"Laura Nicholson? The actress?!" I think I recalled seeing an article about that, but it was just a gossip magazine, not a whole lot of truth to it.

"You've heard of her before?" Lacey seemed surprised.

Laura was originally a Libertian actress, but in the last five years, she had become huge in America. She actually starred in some of my favorite movies. She seemed so cool._Why would she want to be with Prince Keith?_

"Yeah. She's been in some really well-known movies, and she's actually one of my favorite actresses." I informed her.

"Well, you might get to see her tonight. I doubt she'll be one after you meet her, though." Lacey looked sad.

"Is she that terrible?" I asked.

"Yeah, I've worked at several of her parties. At every one, _at least_ one waitress left in tears and was fired."

"Wow." _Maybe they deserve each other._

"Anyway, back to Prince Kei-" Lacey started, until she was interrupted.

"Back to work ladies. There isn't time for idle chit-chat." Luke walked by with a glare focused on us. _How long was Luke listening?_

"Yes, Luke." Lacey and I said in unison. We looked at each other and laughed. Then we quickly finished getting our area ready for the party.

~)~~~~

Two hours in, and I still hadn't seen Prince Keith. _As if I'd want to see him._ I was shaking my thoughts off when I heard a familiar voice calling.

"OY! Waitress, over here." Prince Keith called.

He somehow slipped past me, and was sitting at a nearby table with a group of celebrities. _How did he...? Oh well._

"Yes? What can I get you, Your Highness?" I bowed my head. I took in his appearance. He wasn't wearing his royal dress suit, like he was earlier today. Instead, he was wearing a red button-down shirt under a black sports jacket, some dark gray pants with a black belt, and black shoes.

"I want a bottle of Moët & Chandon Dom Perignon White Gold." He had a smirk on his face. _It's sad how I already know by that look, I'm being challenged._

"Um..." I already knew we only had a few champagne options, and that was not one of them.

"Is there a problem?" Prince Keith asked with a knowing smirk, confirming that he was challenging me.

I shook my head. "No, Your Highness. If you will only be patient, I shall return with your choice shortly." I gave a small bow and quickly made my way to where Luke was.

"What are you doing over here, Miss Hendrickson?" Luke looked worriedly over where Prince Keith was seated.

"His Highness wants a champagne that is not an option for tonight. I am assuming though, there is a bottle in their wine and champagne collection? Where exactly is it? Because I don't recall being shown a storage area anywhere." I asked him.

"Alright. Yes, I didn't show you where it was. What you want to do is go out the door, turn to your right, and..." Luke continued telling me exactly where to go to the manse's wine cellar. I found it with no problems.

"Okay, now I have to find one bottle out of thousands. No pressure." I went over to were the champagne was. When you store champagne, you want to keep it upright. So that narrowed it down for me. "Moët & Chandon Dom Perignon White Gold!" _YES!_ I let myself revel in my small victory and then hurried back to the ballroom.

"Here is your champagne, Your Highness." I said as I uncorked the bottle. Prince Keith didn't look so smug anymore.

"How did you find this so quickly?" He asked astounded.

"It wasn't easy. I admit, I just got lucky that started looking in the right place." I told him honestly. I then began pouring him a glass first, then followed filling his guests' glasses at the table.

"Well, isn't she something." One of the males at the table closest to me, was giving me the up and down look. _I really don't like the look in his eyes. _

As I was filling his glass I felt a hand at my thigh. My eyes widened, my hands shook, and I spilled some of the champagne on him and the girl next to him. It made him remove his hand. _He's lucky I didn't drop the bottle and back-hand him!_

"Watch it! Do you have any idea how much this cost?" The girl next to him started patting at the spots on her dress.

"500 Cruz?" I automatically replied with a quick appraisal.

"How dare you! This cost 25,000 Cruz! Its more than you make in a year!" She stood, and the handsy guy kept her from getting closer.

"Really? Could of fooled me." I was not afraid of this chick. If I so much as raised a hand, she'd back down.

I could see the outrage on her reddening face. She made a noise of outrage and went to jump at me, but the guy caught her and held her back. "LET GO OF ME!" It was so funny I wanted to laugh, but I realized someone was glaring at me.

I looked over and saw Prince Keith giving me a look of both amusement and anger. Anger was winning, though. "You're dismissed for the night." He said calmly.

The amusement in my own face drained and I bowed my head quickly. "I'm sorry, Your Highness, for my rudeness." I looked up and saw surprise on his face. Then I turned to go get Lacey to take over, and started to look for Luke, to let him know I was dismissed for the night.

Before I could locate Luke, though, I felt a hand grab my wrist and turn me around. It was the handsy guy from before._UH...I really don't like this guy._

"Hello. Since you're dismissed from your duties, how about a dance?" He gave me a charming smile. He was definitely good looking, but I already knew he was a creep and my additional gut feeling of unease was not helping.

I gave a small smile. "That wouldn't be a good idea. I've already angered His Highness once tonight. I believe him telling me I'm dismissed, means to get out of here." I tried to get out of his grasp.

Instead, he pulled me out to the dance floor, and encircled me in his arms. Another song was starting. It was slow._Not good._ His hands were right above my butt. This was definitely more the type of dancing I was used to, but this guy had me worried.

"Really. I _don't_ want to dance." I said quietly but forceful, as I struggled to get his hands off me.

"You're already out here! Why should I let you go now?" He asked, but his face paled after he asked looking at something behind me.

"I'll give you a couple of reasons as to why." _Prince Keith?!_ The guy let go and I turned to see the angered prince. My heart started pounding hard in my chest. _Why am I getting all excited about him being here? It's just because now I don't have to deal with this creep._ "She doesn't want to, she has a mouth on her, and she has ties with Noreric." He said the last one with distaste. The creep looked as if he lost interest in me with that one.

"My bad. I didn't know." The creep put his hands up palms out, and walked away.

"Thank you, Your Highness." I gave him another bow.

"I said you were dismissed. Why are you still here?" He asked coldly.

"I was only trying to find Luke so he would know. Then I was going to leave." I kept my head bowed.

"Rise. Why aren't you being your usual ornery self?" He asked as if he actually cared.

"I wasn't on my best behavior tonight, which resulted in me embarrassing you because of my rudeness to a guest, and you saved me from that guy." I said, giving him a small smile.

Prince Keith had a blush creeping up his face. "You...are so... odd." He muttered, rubbing the back of his neck, not looking me in the eyes. _He's embarrassed? Why?_ It was actually a cute look on him. "Don't worry about Luke. Just get out of here, before someone else gets any ideas about you. I'm not your guard dog." Prince Keith said gruffly.

"Gladly." I gave Prince Keith another bow. "Thank you, again, Your Highness." I stood, turned without looking at him, walking out of the ballroom, and went out to the gardens to get some fresh air.

I sat on one of the benches looking up at the stars. Reflecting back on my day. _I can't believe I haven't even been here for 24 hours. It's been really busy. Man, I am sore! I have no idea how I'm going to get out of bed tomorrow! That was such an awkward situation earlier. It kind of reminded me of... NO! I'm not going to think of __**him**__._

My train of thought took me to a place I didn't want to go. I knew that I looked troubled while thinking about that person, who was now out of my life. That was when I heard a noise of someone approaching me.

"Are you alright?" I turned to see …

**So who do you think it will be? I would love to hear what you guys think and any ideas you have for the story!**


	4. 4) Blossoming Friendships

**Time for Chapter 4! If you guessed Cathy, you would be right! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Be My Princess characters, Beauty and the Beast, or the song at the end. I mention who it is, but I don't want to give it away now. Please R&R!**

* * *

"Are you alright?" I turned to see a girl, maybe 15 or 16. She had long blonde hair, blue-green eyes, and pale, flawless skin. She was wearing a white nightgown and slippers.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just thinking about things." I say looking back at her. "Aren't you cold?" Her nightgown looked thin.

"No, and I don't plan to stay out here for long. Are you a new maid? I don't think I've seen you before." She sat down next to me on the bench.

"Yes. I'm Adele Hendrickson, but you may call me Phoenix." I say with a smile.

"Phoenix? I like it. It suits you." She gave me a big smile. "I'm Catherine, with a C, but I'd prefer it if you called me Cathy." She stopped and waited for me to nod. "You don't sound like you're from around here. Where are you from Phoenix?" She seemed genuinely interested.

I told her some about the farm, with her asking questions throughout.

"Phoenix, what were thinking about earlier that was troubling you?" Cathy suddenly asked.

"Oh, well you see, there was this guy who was getting a little too close for comfort. He grabbed my leg, while I was pouring champagne and ..." I told her about the incident with the creep.

"How terrible. You say the prince saved you from that creep?" She asked her eyes shining with happiness._Please don't tell me she has a crush on Prince Keith too._

I was about to reply when someone called, "Cathy! What are doing out here...?" I turned to see Prince Keith with Luke behind him.

"Brother!" She stood and skipped over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist, giving him a hug. _Brother?! Wait a minute...I'm such an idiot!_ I should have noticed that they had similar eyes.

"You! What are you doing here?" Prince Keith's eyes narrowed at seeing me, and I could see his cheeks slightly redden in the moonlight.

"I came out here for fresh air, before I retire for the night. Then Miss Catherine came and we started talking about things." I told him matter-o-factly.

"What things?" Prince Keith seemed slightly worried at the same time Cathy whined, "Phoenix! I thought you were going to call me Cathy?"

"Almost everything." I looked at Prince Keith. Then I turned to Cathy. "I didn't realize you were the princess, so it seems very improper of me to do that." I gave her a quick bow.

"Phoenix, I want us to be friends! Friends call each other by their first names, don't they?" She pleaded. _Oh! Don't give me that look._

I bit my lip unsure how to answer.

"She's right, Miss Catherine, she shouldn't call you by your nickname. It's improper." Luke said from beside Prince Keith.

"What happened to your nose, Luke?" Cathy had turned to Luke as he was speaking and noticed the now apparent bruise.

"It didn't look that bad earlier. Were you wearing make-up?" I asked coming closer to get a better look as well.

Luke's cheeks flamed red. "Re-really, Miss Hendrickson! What else should I have done to hide the bruise?" He squeaked and mumbled.

"How did you get that?" Prince Keith asked also looking at Luke's nose.

"Sorry, again, about that." I said looking away.

"You did that!?" Prince Keith looked shocked.

"It was an accident. I was sleeping and reacted on instinct." I crossed my arms.

"She is a very heavy sleeper, Your Highness. It took over ten minutes of different tactics to get her awake." Luke looked away from us, obviously feeling embarrassed.

"Well, you shouldn't have woken me up before dawn." I retort.

"Wow, Phoenix! You've been up before dawn? You must be exhausted!" Cathy said sounding somewhat worried.

"I'm fine. I took a nap this afternoon. Otherwise, I'd be dead." I gave her a reassuring smile.

"Cathy, you should go back to bed." Prince Keith said looking at his sister, concern in his eyes.

"But I -" Cathy started.

"No. You should be in bed. Sleeping." His voice was soft but commanding. Prince Keith turned to Luke, "Make sure she gets there, Luke."

"Yes, Your Highness." Luke bowed.

"Fine! Bye, Phoenix! See you soon!" Cathy walked off, Luke following after her.

I smiled watching her go. _She's something else. Like a little hurricane! She comes and goes quickly, and is so sweet!_ I looked over at Prince Keith, and was surprised to find him staring at me. "What?"

"Nothing." Prince Keith looked away and rubbed the back of his head.

"It's not nothing. Is something wrong?" I ask worried I'd done something wrong.

"I haven't seen you smile like that before." Prince Keith wouldn't look at me as he mumbled his reply. _Huh?_ "Anyways, you should be getting to bed." He said roughly, finally looking at me.

"Alright. Miss Catherine is really something. You're lucky to have her as a sister." I tell him. I start to walk back to my room.

"I know that." Prince Keith uttered. I turned and saw the shock on his face. "You know she treats all the servants that way, right?" He said as he regained composure. Possibly trying to get to me.

I shrugged my shoulders. "She wants me to be her friend, and that's what I'll be. She's a good person, so of course, she'll be nice to everyone. It's who she is." I can tell I've shocked him again. I turn and walk back to my room for a well deserved sleep.

~)~~~~

It's been a couple days since I've seen Prince Keith. One, we've both been busy. Him, with his duties; I had heard he had to fly out of the country for a couple days. Me, being kept busy with chores Luke finds to assign me. Two, I haven't really wanted to see him. I don't know why.

I get the feeling his mean and rude behavior is only a facade. He came to my rescue the night of the party, and seeing him interact with his sister... It's like he's a completely different person. Plus, when I see him like that, I feel something. I don't know what to say that feeling is. I've never felt that way before.

~)~~~~

It was Wednesday. I finished cleaning a room with some of the maids. They didn't trust me or talk to me much the first day we worked together, but now we've worked together some each day, and now they've warmed up to me.

"You've been doing great, Phoenix." Claire said with a smile.

"Thanks, so have you girls." I say tell her and Natalie.

"I hear Prince Keith got back last night." Natalie says.

"Really?" I say as I finish my dusting.

"I hope everything went well. I don't think I could deal with the Beast." Claire said.

"Beast?" I ask. _I haven't heard him called that before._

"It's what we call him when he's in a bad mood." Natalie explains.

"Which is most of the time." Claire adds.

"That makes sense." I say.

"Miss Hendrickson?" Luke calls as he enters.

"Yes?" I walk over to him.

"I want you to come with me. I have another room that requires your attention." Luke says sternly.

"Okay. Bye, girls." I give them a smile as I follow Luke out of the room. "Your nose looks better." I tell him as we walk side by side.

Luckily, I've been allowed to sleep in til ; which is when Luke expects me to up by. As not to have another incident.

"Thank you for noticing." He said sharply. "Here is the room."

"Oh!" I couldn't believe my eyes! In the middle of the room was a beautiful grand piano. It was the music room.

The room was very spacious, one wall was all windows, and a few other instruments lined another wall. They didn't matter to me. I only know how to play piano and guitar, which was not one of the other instruments.

"Do you play?" Luke asked taking in my reaction.

"Some." I say looking at the beautiful piano. I only ever had a keyboard to play on, and the piano teacher's wasn't anything special either. "I've never played anything as good as that." I say taking some steps into the room.

"You have a break once you clean this room. If you wish to play, you can... Just don't be loud." With that Luke left me alone in the room.

I don't think I've ever cleaned a room faster than that one. I left the instruments for last, and dusted each of them. Out of the instruments, I left the piano for last. _What a shame. It looks like it hasn't been played in years! Oh, well. I'll fix that._

Once it was dusted off, I started playing scales as a warm-up. Which transformed into _Chopsticks_, which is a piece I played with my mom. As I was playing the last notes, someone spoke to me.

"You can play the piano, Phoenix?" I turned to see Cathy standing in the doorway.

"Yes, and the guitar." I say with a small smile.

"That's so cool! Will you play me something?" Cathy says as she comes in and sits in one of the chairs along the back wall.

"Are you wanting something classic or more modern? I can do either, but to play classic, I need the sheet music." I tell her.

"I'm fine with something modern." She gives me an encouraging grin.

"Okay." I turn back to the piano and let my fingers go across the keys.

I automatically started playing _Mirrors_ by Justin Timberlake. It was the last song I mastered on the piano. It took me two hours to figure it out all by ear, but once I learn a song I can play it no matter how much time has passed. For me, playing the piano, and even the guitar, are like riding a bike for other people.

Since I was letting go of myself and immersing myself in the song, I began singing:

"Aren't you somethin' to admire? Cause your shine is somethin' like a mirror. And I can't help but notice, you reflect in this heart of mine. If you ever feel alone and, the glare makes me hard to find, just know that I'm always, parallel on the other side.

Cause with your hand in my hand and a pocket full of soul, I can tell you there's no place we couldn't go. Just put your hand on the glass, I'll be tryin' to pull you through. You just gotta be strong.

'Cause I don't wanna lose you now. I'm lookin' right at the other half of me. The vacancy that sat in my heart, is a space that now you hold. Show me how to fight for now, and I'll tell you, baby, it was easy, comin' back into you once I figured it out. You were right here all along.

It's like you're my mirror, my mirror staring back at me. I couldn't get any bigger, with anyone else beside of me. And now it's clear as this promise, that we're making, two reflections into one. Cause it's like you're my mirror, my mirror staring back at me, staring back at me.

Aren't you somethin', an original. Cause it doesn't seem merely assembled. And I can't help but stare, cause I see truth somewhere in your eyes. I can't ever change without you. You reflect me, I love that about you. And if I could, I would look at us all the time.

Cause with your hand in my hand and a pocket full of soul, I can tell you there's no place we couldn't go. Just put your hand on the glass, I'll be tryin' to pull you through. You just gotta be strong.

I don't wanna lose you now. I'm lookin' right at the other half of me. The vacancy that sat in my heart, is a space that now you hold. Show me how to fight for now. And I'll tell you, baby, it was easy, comin' back into you once I figured it out. You were right here all along.

It's like you're my mirror, my mirror staring back at me. I couldn't get any bigger, with anyone else beside of me. And now it's clear as this promise, that we're making, two reflections into one. Cause it's like you're my mirror, my mirror staring back at me, staring back at me.

Yesterday is history, tomorrow's a mystery. I can see you lookin' back at me. Keep your eyes on me. Baby, keep your eyes on me.

'Cause I don't wanna lose you now. I'm lookin' right at the other half of me. The vacancy that sat in my heart, is a space that now you hold. Show me how to fight for now. (please show me, baby) I'll tell you, baby, it was easy, comin' back into you once I figured it out. You were right here all along.

It's like you're my mirror, my mirror staring back at me. I couldn't get any bigger, with anyone else beside of me. And now it's clear as this promise, that we're making, two reflections into one. Cause it's like you're my mirror, my mirror staring back at me, staring back at me."

* * *

**Hope you guys liked it! I'd love to hear any comments or ideas you guys have! See you again in Chapter 5.**


	5. 5) Start of Something New

**Chapter 5 is finally here! Hope I didn't make you guys wait to long. My goal is to update once a week. Please R&R!**

* * *

{_Prince Keith_}

I'm sitting in my office doing paperwork, when I hear the sound of a piano. _Where is that coming from?_ I get up from my desk and walk out of my office. _I know the music room is down the hall, but who could be playing?_

Once I got out in the hall the music stopped. Then I heard two girls' voices. I continue towards the music room, and am able to tell who they are: Cathy and Phoenix. _Phoenix?_ I listen to their conversation, not wanting to scare Phoenix off, standing outside of the room and away from the doorway.

"... play the piano, Phoenix?" I hear Cathy asking Phoenix.

"Yes, and the guitar." Phoenix replies

"That's so cool! Will you play me something?" Cathy asks.

"Are you wanting something classic or more modern? I can do either, but to play classic, I need the sheet music." Phoenix answers.

"I'm fine with something modern." Cathy tells her.

"Okay." Phoenix says. In seconds, I hear the piano playing again._I think I've heard this song before. _What I wasn't expecting, was for Phoenix to start singing. _Wow. Her voice is amazing. It's soft, compared to how loud she usually is. Though, there's no mistaking how beautiful it is. _

I decided to sneak a peek. Phoenix is sitting with her back to the door. I could see Cathy in my peripheral watching Phoenix also. Though she must have seen me and turned to look at me. I look at her and see that she has a knowing smirk on her face. _What's with that look? _I've seen that look before. _She's planning something._ Cathy turns back to Phoenix, and I do too.

Phoenix: "Cause I don't wanna lose you now I'm lookin' right at the other half of me The vacancy that sat in my heart Is a space that now you hold Show me how to fight for now And I'll tell you, baby, it was easy Comin' back into you once I figured it out You were right here all along  
It's like you're my mirror My mirror staring back at me I couldn't get any bigger With anyone else beside of me And now it's clear as this promise That we're making Two reflections into one Cause it's like you're my mirror My mirror staring back at me, staring back at me  
Aren't you somethin', an original Cause it doesn't seem merely assembled And I can't help but stare, cause I see truth somewhere in your eyes I can't ever change without you You reflect me, I love that about you And if I could, I Would look at us all the time  
Cause with your hand in my hand and a pocket full of soul I can tell you there's no place we couldn't go Just put your hand on the glass I'll be tryin' to pull you through You just gotta be strong  
I don't wanna lose you now I'm lookin' right at the other half of me The vacancy that sat in my heart Is a space that now you hold Show me how to fight for now And I'll tell you, baby, it was easy Comin' back into you once I figured it out You were right here all along  
It's like you're my mirror My mirror staring back at me I couldn't get any bigger With anyone else beside of me And now it's clear as this promise That we're making Two reflections into one Cause it's like you're my mirror My mirror staring back at me, staring back at me  
Yesterday is history Tomorrow's a mystery I can see you lookin' back at me Keep your eyes on me Baby, keep your eyes on me  
'Cause I don't wanna lose you now I'm lookin' right at the other half of me The vacancy that sat in my heart Is a space that now you hold Show me how to fight for now I'll tell you, baby, it was easy Comin' back into you once I figured it out You were right here all along  
It's like you're my mirror My mirror staring back at me I couldn't get any bigger With anyone else beside of me And now it's clear as this promise That we're making Two reflections into one Cause it's like you're my mirror My mirror staring back at me, staring back at me."

I could tell she was finishing, so I got out of the doorway to ensure Phoenix wouldn't know I had been listening. _Honestly, that girl is always surprising me. What's this feeling? Could I be falling for HER?! No. No, I couldn't possibly fall for her. Maybe it's guilt? Obviously, I was wrong about her. Yeah, that's probably it. _

I listened to Phoenix and Cathy talk a little more, before returning to my office. I wasn't sure how I would go about apologizing to Phoenix, but I could at least get her gift. The idea coming from their conversation.

~)~~~~

(_Back to_ _Phoenix_)

As I finished _Mirrors_ by Justin Timberlake, I sat there for a minute, then turned to look at Cathy.

Before I could even ask, "Phoenix, you were awesome! That was incredible!" Cathy beamed as she bounces over to me.

"Thanks." I give Cathy a smile, and feel my cheeks get a little red.

"You shouldn't be so surprised by the compliment, Phoenix. Unless... Do you not sing in front of other people much?" Cathy asked shocked.

"I have. Mainly for musicals. Otherwise, only my family and _really_ close friends hear me sing on a daily basis." I tell her.

"You've been in musicals?!" Cathy seemed excited for me.

"Only school productions. Nothing major. Most of them are really unknown." I inform Cathy.

"Still, that's impressive. I don't think I could get on a stage in front of a big group of strangers and sing." Cathy says matter-o-factly.

"Thanks. I would get compliments from the audience members after the show, but it never really sinks in. I know I'm alright, but I'm not the next big singer or anything special." I say honestly.

"You're still good. You're really good at playing piano. When did you start playing?" Cathy asked.

"I started taking lessons when I was five. I talked my mom into letting me quit the lessons when I was eleven. Even though I stopped the lessons, I still played and learned current songs to keep everything fresh." I tell Cathy.

"What about guitar?" Cathy asks.

"Same time, I was five. When my grandfather found out I was learning to play piano, he made me learn how to play guitar. He reasoning being 'No grandchild of mine is not gonna learn to play the guitar.' and 'If you got time to learn to play the piano, you can learn to play the guitar.' He actually said those things to me and my mother." I tell her with a smile as I remember my grandpa.

"He sounds fun. Why was it so important that you learn to play the guitar?" Cathy asked.

"Well, back when he was around my age, he left for Tennessee, to try and make it big as a country singer. He stayed there for three years, and didn't get a big break. His brother offered him a partnership for a construction company he was starting up, so he went home. My grandmother was his high school sweetheart, who waited for him to either make it big or come home to settle down with her. So once he accepted the partnership, they were married and soon had my mom. They actually made a lot of money with the business. But my grandfather still regretted not being able to fulfill his dream. So he made me and my cousins learn to play. I was the only one to actually stick with it. Which is why I got his guitar with signatures from famous country singers back in the day." I say.

"Got? Did he die?" Cathy asked looking sad.

"When I was getting ready to start my freshman year of high school. I really miss him, but I know he's better off and with my grandmother. So I'm not really sad about his passing." I say with a smile.

"I'm sorry about your loss, and bringing it up." Cathy said giving me a hug.

"It's alright, Cathy. Almost all my memories of my grandparents are happy ones. Most of them are of us doing family performances when we were all together. My grandfather and I would play guitars, my grandmother would yodel, and we'd all sing. It was a lot of fun." I tell her.

"It does sound like fun. I wish I could have heard it." Cathy says with a smile.

"Well, if you get a guitar for me to play then, I can at least play you some of the songs we'd sing. Because they wouldn't sound right on piano." I inform her.

"Promise?" Cathy asks her eyes filled with excitement.

"Your break is over, Miss Hendrickson." Luke came in then, and stopped short when he saw me with Cathy.

"Alright, Luke." I turn to Cathy. "Promise." I give her hand a squeeze, and a smile.

~)~~~~

_Uhh. I'm so tired, but I can't fall asleep!_ I had worked through the rest of the day, with no major event happening. I was tired, but for some reason sleep was evading me.

I looked over at my clock. _12:34._ _I should go stand out on the balcony and get some fresh air?_ As I started to get out of my bed, I hear a knock on my door. It wasn't really loud, like an emergency. It was more of a soft knock. I don't know why, but I decided to act like I was sleeping.

As I laid down with my back to the door and got the blanket pulled up to my chin, I hear the door open and see the light from the hallway being cast on my wall. I close my eyes and even out my breathing, as I hear the approaching footsteps.

I then felt a hand caress my head. I was so surprised, I almost opened my eyes. Almost. _Honestly, I'm glad I'm a good actor, otherwise I'd be caught pretending to be asleep._ I don't know how to describe what was going on, but my heart started racing from whoever was touching me.

"Hmm, I think I prefer you sleeping." I heard a soft familiar voice. _Prince Keith?!_ I _really_ almost opened my eyes when I realized he was the one stroking my head. "I don't know if I could tell this to you when you're awake... but I think I was mistaken about you. I'm sorry." Prince Keith stopped stroking my head, then I felt something soft touch my temple. _Did he just kiss me?!_ As soon as I heard the door close I sat up looking at it. _Did that really just happen? Or am I dreaming? If I'm dreaming... Why would I dream about Prince Keith kissing me?! And what did he mean he was mistaken? What about me was he wrong about? UHH! This is so not good for a girl trying to get her sleep! _

I got out of bed and walked out onto my balcony to get fresh air. _Okay, I'm pretty sure that actually happened. Now I'm just really confused! _I let out a frustrated sigh, took a deep breath, and returned to bed. Luckily, I passed out by 1:30.

~)~~~~

The next morning, I was working with the gardener outside. All I could think about was last night. _Why? Why did he come in my room and say those things to me? I don't know what I'll do if I see him. I hope I don't see him any time soon._

"All done." I say, wiping my dirty hands on my apron.

"Thanks again, Adele." Mr. Greene, the gardener, says.

"I told you, you can call me Phoenix." I tell him for the thirtieth time.

"And as I told you, I feel better calling you Adele. It is your first name after all." He tells me in a timid matter-o-factly way.

I smile and shake my head. I knew I had a break now, so I decided to walk around in the garden for a little while. I walked by a building and heard a noise coming from the open door. _I wonder what's going on. Basketball?_ I could hear the screech of sneakers and the noise sounded like a ball bouncing. I looked in the doorway.

A group of ten guys playing shirts vs. skins. It was easy to see they were all well built, even from far away. Then one of the skins made a slam dunk.

"BEAST!" All the skins cheered and did the huddle up around him. They were all bumping fists, high-fiving, and chest bumping. _Why do I have to have such bad eyesight for far away? Because the maids called Prince Keith "Beast". Surely, he isn't called that on the court, too. Is he?_

I was so lost in thought, I failed to notice the game was over and they were getting ready to leave.

"What are you doing here?" I looked back up and could soon see, that it had indeed been Prince Keith. He was walking up to me, while putting on his shirt, but before it was on, I saw that he had a tattoo of a lion head on his chest. Just like the one on their family crest.

"I-I heard the noise and just wanted to see what was going on." I started feeling nervous, remembering last night.

"Oh. Don't you have work you should be doing?" Prince Keith said somewhat harshly. _Of course. Back to his usual self._

"Actually, I'm on break right now. So, I'll leave you to get back to whatever it is you're doing." I turn to leave.

"What's the rush? You said you were on break." He grabs my arm to stop me from going.

"I shouldn't be bothering you, and I need to go do some things while I have the free time." I tell him.

"You aren't bothering me. But apparently, you have better things to do than talk to a prince." His haughty attitude was coming back.

"Sorry, for assuming you would need to go shower and get back to your duties, my mistake." I retort with attitude.

I could see the glint come into his eyes. "Well, its good to see you have some sense and are acting as your normal self again." Prince Keith let go of my arm and stalked back to his friends.

I shook my head and turned to go back to the garden. That's when I heard laughter. I looked over and saw Cathy.

"What's so funny, Cathy?" I ask as I walk over to her.

"You and my brother. Honestly, I'm surprised you both don't see it." Cathy says grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

I tilt my head at her. "What don't we see?" I ask.

"Well, if you don't know, then I'm not telling you." Cathy shakes her head, then takes my hand and pulls me into the garden to a bench.

"What's up, Cathy?" I can tell something's on her mind.

"I have a favor to ask you..." Cathy says tentatively.

"Okay. You know, I can't answer without knowing what it is." I push her to continue.

"My brother likes to take me to parties here in Liberty, but I'm not feeling like going to the one tomorrow evening. He'll still need a date to help keep some of the women away. And I can't think of a better replacement than you, Phoenix." Cathy says looking at me.

"Well... I'll go if your brother agrees. But I'm sure he'd rather go by himself than take me." I say with a smile.

Cathy returns my smile with one of her own. "I doubt it." Then she turns her face to the sky and closes her eyes. In that moment, I notice how truly pale Cathy is.

"Cathy... Are you alright? You seem really pale." I ask, worry in my voice.

"I can't get much past you, can I, Phoenix? You're right. I'm sick, and have been sick since I was born. I have a weak heart. It's nothing too bad, but I can't go very far from home, and I have spells when I feel really weak. That happens every now and then. I've gotten used to it and can tell when its coming on." Cathy tells me calmly.

"Cathy. Isn't there something that can be done, like a heart surgery?" I ask feeling sorry for her. "I knew a person who was born with a bad heart, and she had a transplant, but now she's perfectly healthy." I feel hopeful telling her this.

"It's not that kind of illness... but if my heart got worst they would look into doing something like that." Cathy informs me. "It's funny. I try so hard to not let the maids and others see, yet you see right through me. You really are my closest and truest friend." Cathy looked me in the eye, took my hands in hers, and gave me a huge grin. Then she gave me a hug.

"What's going on here?" A familiar voice called out.

We both turned to look at Prince Keith, who was still wearing his basketball shorts and T-shirt, with a towel around his neck.

Cathy let go of me and skipped over to him and threw her arms around him, seeming to not care that he was covered in sweat. "Brother, I want you to take Phoenix to the party tomorrow in my place." There was no denying it. Cathy didn't ask, it was more of a command.

"Cathy are you...?" Prince Keith looked worried.

"I can feel it starting. Phoenix already knows. She figured it out all on her own." Cathy turned to me and looked kind of like a proud parent.

"She figured it out on her own?" Prince Keith sounded like he didn't believe it.

"Yep. Anyways... You're taking Phoenix in my place." Cathy commanded.

"Why would I want to take her? I don't go for girls like that." Prince Keith motioned towards me.

"Brother! There is no limit to your rudeness. How dare you refer to a lady in such a manner, and in her presence no less!" Cathy smacked Prince Keith's arm.

"Ow, Cathy!" Prince Keith rubbed his arm. "Alright, I'll take her." Prince Keith turns to me. "The party will start at 6 tomorrow night. It's a Halloween costume party. I'll make the arrangements for the costume. You can have tomorrow off so you can rest up and get ready for the party. We'll be leaving at 5:30, so don't be late." With that said Prince Keith walked away.

"Well... He seemed _so_ happy to take me." I said sarcastically.

Cathy giggled. "Phoenix. My brother _is_ happy to take you. You just don't know him as well as I do to see it." Cathy gave me a hug then walked back into the Manse.

_I don't know about that. I hope this costume party goes well. I don't even know what costume I'll be wearing! If its up to Prince Keith... hopefully I don't have a problem with it like I did with my uniform the first day. _

Those were the thoughts I was stuck with during my break, before Luke showed up and made me work nonstop to make up for the work I'd miss tomorrow.

* * *

**So what did you think? What should Phoenix's costume be? Please let me know any ideas you have, I would love to hear your input!:) Until next time.**


	6. 6) Time to Waste

**Chapter 6 is here! I finally got enough to post something. I hope you like it! Please R&R!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the songs. They are given their proper recognition within the story.**

* * *

I had let myself sleep in til ten, since I wouldn't be working. When I came out of the bathroom, Luke was waiting by my bed with a breakfast tray.

"Good morning, Miss Hendrickson." Luke said.

"Good morning, Luke. So what's the plan for today?" I ask him as I sit on my bed and look under the lid. _Mmm. Pancakes! The guys remembered I liked pancakes. _The chefs had asked me the first day we worked together what I liked to eat; after we hit it off.

"The maids will be here in three hours to help get you ready for the party. Princess Catherine asked that you meet her in the music room, once you were done with breakfast." Luke answered.

"Alright, thank you, Luke." I say.

Luke bowed and left the room.

I ate and changed into some jeans and a tee shirt. _No point really getting dressed, since I'll have to change into my costume soon. _

I walked into the music room to see Cathy, sitting on the piano bench, and a guitar with a red bow on a stand next to her.

"What's this?" I ask as I walk in.

"You said if I got you a guitar you would play me some country songs. So, I got you a guitar!" Cathy said as she clapped her hands together.

"Why the bow?" I ask as I walk over to her to inspect the guitar. It was nice._It's a Gibson Hummingbird Acoustic-Electric guitar. Wow, this is really expensive!_

"I like to make things look nice." Cathy says. _She's hiding something. Oh, well. I'll just play along._

"Thank you, Cathy." I say with a smile. "So what do you want to hear?" I ask as I take the guitar and move over to a chair to sit. I took the bow off, and started tuning it.

"How about the first song you learned to play?" Cathy asked.

"It's an oldie; even when I learned it." I say as I continue tuning it.

"That's okay. Is it one you would sing with your family?" Cathy asked.

"More like, for them. Although, I sang it as a duet with my grandfather a couple of times." I finally felt like it was tuned, and began to strum the first song I learned: _Counting Flowers on the Wall_ by the Statler Brothers.

"I keep hearin' you're concerned about my happiness But all that thought you're givin' me is conscience I guess If I were walkin' in your shoes I wouldn't worry none While you and your friends're worryin' bout me I'm havin' lots of fun

Countin' flowers on the wall that don't bother me at all Playin' solitare till dawn with a deck of fifty one Smokin' cigarettes and watchin' Captain Kangaroo Now don't tell me, I've nothing to do  
Last night I dressed in tails pretended I was on the town As long as I can dream it's hard to slow this swinger down So please don't give a thought to me I'm really doin' fine You can always find me here I'm havin' quite a time  
Countin' flowers on the wall that don't bother me at all Playin' solitare till dawn with a deck of fifty one Smokin' cigarettes and watchin' Captain Kangaroo Now don't tell me, I've nothing to do  
It's good to see you, I must go, I know I look a fright Anyway my eyes are not accustomed to this light And my shoes are not accustomed to this hard concrete So I must go back to my room and make my day complete

Countin' flowers on the wall that don't bother me at all Playin' solitare till dawn with a deck of fifty one Smokin' cigarettes and watchin' Captain Kangaroo Now don't tell me I've nothing to do Don't tell me, I've nothing to do."

I looked up at Cathy after I strummed the last note.

"That's the first song you learned when you were 5?!" Cathy is completely shocked.

"Yeah. I loved the Captain Kangaroo part, and the tune was fun. It's only 5 chords, though as I've gotten older I've made it sound more complex then it actually is." I say with a laugh.

"How long did it take you to learn?" Cathy asked.

"About four hours. Though I moved really slow when playing the song the first couple of times." I tell her. "The speed I played it at just now is my usual speed for it. Though I can play it a lot faster if I want to. Though, this is my usual performance speed."

"I really liked it. Do you want to play another?" Cathy asked giving me a smile.

"Sure. I have plenty of time to kill. Happy or sad?" I ask her.

"How about we do a sad one, then a funny one, and finish with a happy one?" Cathy suggests.

"Okay. Sad song first." I let my mind think through my list of songs, and the first one that came to mind was Martina McBride's _Concrete Angel_. "This one requires the piano." I walk over and sit next to Cathy on the bench and start to play.

"She walks to school with the lunch she packed Nobody knows what she's holdin' back Wearin' the same dress she wore yesterday She hides the bruises with linen and lace  
The teacher wonders but she doesn't ask It's hard to see the pain behind the mask Bearing the burden of a secret storm Sometimes she wishes she was never born  
Through the wind and the rain She stands hard as a stone In a world that she can't rise above But her dreams give her wings And she flies to a place where she's loved Concrete angel  
Somebody cries in the middle of the night The neighbors hear, but they turn out the lights A fragile soul caught in the hands of fate When morning comes it'll be too late  
Through the wind and the rain She stands hard as a stone In a world that she can't rise above But her dreams give her wings And she flies to a place where she's loved Concrete angel  
A statue stands in a shaded place An angel girl with an upturned face A name is written on a polished rock A broken heart that the world forgot  
Through the wind and the rain She stands hard as a stone In a world that she can't rise above But her dreams give her wings And she flies to a place where she's loved Concrete angel"

I stopped so Cathy could take in the song. "It's so sad."

"Yeah, but I love it." _And I can relate some._

I went back to the chair and picked up the guitar. "This one's a fun one." I played Sugarland's _Stuck Like Glue_.

"MMMM better...MMMM better... Absolutely no one that knows me better No one that can make me feel sooo goooood How did we stay so long together? When everybody, everybody said we never would And just when I, I start to think they're right That love has died...  
There you go making my heart beat again, Heart beat again, Heart beat again There you go making me feel like a kid Won't you do it and do it one time? There you go pulling me right back in, Right back in, Right back in And I know-oo I'm never letting this go-ooo  
I'm stuck on you Whutooo whutooo Stuck like glue You and me baby we're stuck like glue Whutooo whutooo Stuck like glue You and me baby we're stuck like glue  
Some days I don't feel like trying Some days you know I wanna just give up When it doesn't matter who's right, fight about it all night Had enough You give me that look "I'm sorry baby let's make up" You do that thing that makes me laugh And just like that...  
There you go making my heart beat again, Heart beat again, Heart beat again There you go making me feel like a kid Won't you do it and do it one time There you go pulling me right back in, Right back in, Right back in And I know-oo I'm never letting this go-ooo  
I'm stuck on you Whutooo whutooo Stuck like glue You and me baby we're stuck like glue Whutooo whutooo Stuck like glue You and me baby were stuck like glue  
Whutooo Whutoo  
You almost stay out, too stuck together from the ATL Whutooo Whutoo Feeling kinda sick? Just a spoon full of sugar make it better real quick  
I say Whutooo Whutoo Whatcha gonna do with that? Whutooo Whutoo Come on over here with that Sugar sticky sweet stuff Come on give me that stuff Everybody wants some Melodies that get stuck  
Up in your head Whutooo whutooo Up in your head Whutooo whutooo Up in your head Whutooo whutooo  
Up in your head Whutooo whutooo Whuthoo whutooo Stuck like glue You and me together, say, it's all I wanna do I said  
There you go making my heart beat again, Heart beat again, Heart beat again There you go making me feel like a kid Won't you do it and do it one time There you go pulling me right back in, Right back in, Right back in And I know-oo I'm never letting this go-ooo  
There you go making my heart beat again, Heart beat again, Heart beat again There you go making me feel like a kid Won't you do it and do it one time There you go pulling me right back in, Right back in, Right back in And I know-oo I'm never letting this go-ooo I'm stuck on you  
Whutooo whutooo Stuck like glue You and me baby we're stuck like glue Whutooo whutooo Stuck like glue You and me baby were stuck like glue Whutooo whutooo Stuck like glue You and me baby we're stuck like glue"

"I really liked that one!" Cathy says.

"Sugarland is one of my favorite duos. Plus, the video for this song is hilarious!" I tell her.

"Time for the happy one...about love?" Cathy asks. _Something's off about her tone of voice and the look she's giving me._ I suddenly had a weird feeling to look behind me. I took a quick glance behind me, but there was no one there. _I must be imagining things._

"Okay. I'll do one of my favorites." I sang Shania Twain's _No One Needs to Know_.

Am I dreamin' or stupid? I think I've been hit by Cupid But no one needs to know right now I met a tall, dark and handsome man And I've been busy makin' big plans But no one needs to know right now  
I got my heart set, my feet wet And he don't even know it yet But no one needs to know right now  
I'll tell him someday some way somehow But I'm gonna keep it a secret for now  
I want bells to ring, a choir to sing The white dress the guests the cake the car the wholed darn thing But no one needs to know right now  
I'll tell him someday some way somehow But I'm gonna keep it a secret for now  
We'll have a little girl a little boy A little Benji we call Leroy But no one needs to know right now  
And I'm not lonely anymore at night And he don't know only only he can make it right  
And I'm not lonely anymore at night And he don't know only only he can make it right  
I'm not dreamin' or stupid But boy have I been hit by Cupid But no one needs to know right now  
No one needs to know right now."

"That one was great!" Cathy beamed.

"Cathy, what are you up to?" I ask.

"Whatever do you mean, Phoenix? I'm not up to anything." Cathy stood up. "I loved your songs, Phoenix. I'm feeling tired, so I'm going to go retire for a while. Please come and see before you leave for the party. I want to see what costume my brother chose for you." Cathy stood in front of me waiting for my reply.

"Of course, I'll come see you." I smile at her.

"Yea! See you later then, Phoenix!" Cathy hugged me then left the room.

_Oh, Cathy... What are you planning? I know you're up to something._ I started strumming the guitar and just hummed harmonies to what I played, as I let myself get lost in thought. I didn't know how long I had been doing that for, when someone came in.

"What are you doing?" A somewhat harsh voice brought me back to reality.

"Huh?!" I looked up. "Your Highness!" I quickly bowed my head, but I forgot how close I was to the guitar's neck. "Ow!"

I heard laughter.

"Haha, laugh it up." I sat the guitar down and crossed my arms waiting for him to get a hold of himself. "You're not even worried that I hurt myself?" I ask.

"No. You have a hard head, so I'm not worried." Prince Keith says amusement still in his eyes.

"Rude. Why are you here, Your Highness?" I ask not the least bit amused.

"I heard noise from my office and came to see what it was." Prince Keith states matter-o-factly.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disturb your work. I probably should have closed the door." I tell him honestly. _Why haven't I thought about closing the door before now? Oh, well._

"No, it's fine. You aren't bad." Prince Keith states.

"Okay. I accept that as a compliment. It's probably the best I can get from you." I say.

"What do you want me to say?" Prince Keith says slightly annoyed.

I took a moment to think through other compliments I had received and tried to picture Prince Keith saying it. "Honestly, I can't see you saying anything else. It just wouldn't be you." I say and stand.

"Are you finished playing?" Prince Keith asks.

"Yeah. It's almost time to start getting ready for the party. So do I get any hints as to what my costume is?" I ask hoping he will give me something.

"Do you like the guitar?" Prince Keith asks me instead of answering the question.

_What? I didn't see that one coming._ "Yeah. It's a really nice guitar. Though, honestly, Cathy shouldn't have gotten me such an expensive guitar." I tell him my true feelings.

"Wait, Cathy...?" Prince Keith seemed confused by something.

"What?" I ask.

"I gotta get back to work. I'll see outside the manse later." He suddenly leaves the room. _That was odd. Something is definitely going on. _

I shake my head and go back to my room to wait for the maids.

~)~~~~

(_Prince Keith_)

I left Phoenix in the music room, and made my way to my sister's bedroom. _What is my sister up to?_

I walked in without knocking. "Cathy, what are you up to?"

Cathy was lying in her bed, reading a book. She put down the book and smiled at me. "Whatever are you talking about, Brother?"

"Why did you say the guitar was from you?" I ask, more like demand.

"Because, Phoenix would have wanted to know why you gave her a guitar. How you knew to get her one. So on, so forth. I just saved you the trouble of having to explain yourself. It made more sense for the guitar to come from me." Cathy explains easily. _I hate to admit it but she has a point. But why did it hurt for Phoenix to think the guitar came from Cathy, and not me? Uhh. _

"So did you pick out Phoenix's costume for tonight?" Cathy asks.

"Yeah. Are you really even feeling ill, Cathy? Or is this some sort of plan of yours to try to get something to happen between us?" I ask feeling defensive.

"It's not some plan. I really don't feel well. I've gotten better at hiding how sick I feel." Cathy gives me the look of innocence. _God, Cathy! You're really overdoing it._

"Fine. I'll see you later." I wrap my arm around her and kiss her forehead. _She always fakes being sick when she wants something. This party seems like something she would want me to go on as more of a date. She's wanted to choose the girls I go out with for so long, she finally has her wish. Though, I don't mind her choice._

I smile as I think of Phoenix's costume. I honestly can't imagine what her reaction would be to it. Most likely shocked and terrified by it.

~)~~~~

(_Back to Phoenix_)

"He's gotta be kidding! This is my costume!" I can't believe that Prince Keith picked this out for several reasons. Though looking at it and thinking back to the uniform problem the first day, I think I understand why he chose it.

* * *

**I have the costume picked out. I just wanted to leave you in more suspense over it. Any ideas with the clue from Phoenix's reaction? **

**FYI: I feel evil for doing this to you, but I thought it would be better to get something out now, then I can make a nice long chapter on the party later. This way, you have something to satisfy your wanting more.**

**Now it's back to Phoenix's Wil to write another chapter. Please don't hate me for putting you in suspense! Sorry, couldn't resist! See you in Chapter 7!**


	7. 7) Costume Rules

**Yay! I finally got this chapter done! Sorry it took so long, but in return it's long. (I think it's the longest so far!) Plus I'm so proud of myself, because I told you guys it would be two weeks before I updated again, but it only took me 2 days! **

** I'd like to thank xing414. You helped me know I was on the right train of thought for Phoenix's costume! Please R&R & enjoy!**

* * *

"Catwoman! Seriously?! He chose Catwoman for me!" I felt a mix of excitement and terror. _I've always wanted to dress up as Catwoman, but never had the nerve or confidence to do it. Can I pull this off?_

Claire, Natalie, and two other maids I didn't know, had come to help me get ready. They just presented me with my costume.

"Don't worry you'll look great!" Claire says.

"Yeah. Honestly, Miss Adele, I can't think of a better costume for you." Natalie says.

"No." I automatically say.

"No, what?" Natalie asks confused.

"Don't you start calling Miss Adele, just call me Phoenix like any other day. I work side by side with you. I just got forced into this, because Princess Catherine wanted me to go with His Highness." I tell them.

"You could at least act a little happy about having to go. His Highness is handsome." One of the other maids said dreamily. She looked to be the youngest of the four. Her name was Milly, I found out.

"Looks aren't everything. Besides, do you really want to put up with the 'Beast'?" I asked with air quotes to emphasize my point.

"No. But since he's going to a party, His Highness should be on his best and most gentlemanly behavior." The oldest maid said. I found out her name is Sarah.

"Your options are to either go with or without undergarments." Sarah said sternly. _I didn't realize how awkward this was going to be. Getting ready for the ball at Noble Micheal was nothing compared to this. Maybe, because I've gotten to personally know the maids helping me right now? I don't know._

"With." I didn't hesitate.

"Okay. Here's a black strapless bra. Then either a thong or these lacy boxer-style panties." Sarah seemed to be in charge of the embarrassing items. _Maybe because she's older and used to this sort of stuff?_

"Boxers. No way am I ever wearing a thong again." I say putting my hand out to receive them.

"Why not?" Claire asked.

"I had to wear them for volleyball, because we wore spanx. I vowed after volleyball season was over that I would never again wear a thong." I explain.

"Oh, that makes sense." Claire says.

"Phoenix, go get those on, and we'll help you get this on." Sarah said.

"Okay." I went into the bathroom and got into the bra and panties. _I've never worn this type of underwear before. They look good and feel so comfortable. I should get some of these when I go back to school._

"Okay. What now?" I ask as I walk out.

"We'll start with the jumpsuit. We'll need to do your hair next so we can get the mask on. Then the bustier, belt, and boots. Make-up last." Natalie says. The jumpsuit was the equivalence of black shiny faux-leather with some stretch in it. _I didn't realize how difficult it would be to get into it._

It took us a good ten minutes to get me into the jumpsuit. It fit like a glove.

"Just as he said, no panty-lines!" Milly seemed surprised.

"What?" I ask.

"We talked to the costume designer and asked what proper undergarments should be worn as to not see any lines." Sarah filled me in.

"Oh." I say.

"Now time for your hair!" Milly pulls me over to the vanity in my room. She seemed to be in charge of hair. "Your hair is so pretty, Phoenix!" Milly gushed as she started messing with it.

"Thanks, but hold all compliments til after you're done." I say, knowing what a pain my hair actually is. Based on how I care for it, it makes it easy to comb out in the morning and leave down, as it is pretty straight with some wave in it. Ponytails and buns being my other easy hair style option. Anything else is a total pain to attempt, because my hair won't hold curls or stay straightened.

It took Milly several trial and errors to fix my hair in a way that would work under the mask. By the time she finally got it, I could tell she was getting a little annoyed with it.

"My hair is a total pain, right?" I ask.

"Nothing I couldn't handle. It's still pretty, Phoenix." Milly says with a cute smile. _She's so sweet!_

"Alright mask!" Claire says as she pulls it over my face for the third time. "Milly you did it! No strands anywhere!" Claire says as they inspect for hair sticking out or making the mask look weird.

"Remember, Phoenix, when you take off the mask go_slowly_. All your hair is at the top, so it'll be pulled with the mask." Milly tells me.

"Alright, time for the bustier." Natalie takes it, puts it around me, and zips the back together. It was a perfect fit; it was tight, but I could still breath easily. _It's weird how everything I put on fits perfectly, and yet I haven't told anyone my size._

"Belt." Natalie calls and holds her hand out, as if she were a surgeon asking her nurses for the next tool she needs. Sarah hands it over without comment. Natalie clips the utility-looking belt around my hips._Again, a perfect fit?!_

"Time for the boots!" Natalie says as Claire and Milly each bring one over to me. They looked like the same material as the jumpsuit and zipped from the heel of my foot all the way to the top, which ended up being right below my knees.

"Give us your best walk." Claire says, as she and Milly finish getting my boots on.

I stand. _Huh, these are actually pretty comfortable for three inch heels._ I do the runway style walk across my room. I could feel my hips swaying and doing the walk that I knew made guys take a second look.

"Wow! It's scary how good you are moving in that. Have you dressed up like this before?" Natalie asks suspiciously.

"No, I just took a class that taught posture and walking." I say without thinking.

"With the books on your head and everything?" Milly asks surprised.

"Yeah, though it wasn't as important to walk with books on your head." I inform her. Its weird how now all the silly classes my mother signed me up for, now make total sense. They were all the things a princess would have to learn.

"Make-up!" Milly calls and pulls me back to my seat at the vanity. I thought with how excited she was, that Milly would be doing it, but Sarah starting pulling out different shades of make-up and held them up to me, to see if it would look good. Sarah quietly did my make-up only giving me quiet commands on how to move my eyes, lips, and head when needed.

"Another masterpiece, Sarah!" Milly applauds, and Natalie and Claire join in.

I turn to see myself in the mirror. _Whoa! I look amazing! _Sarah had given me a cat-eye with liner, and black-gray smokey eyes. My lips were a bright deep red. _I don't know whether I'm happy or scared by my yellow-gold eyes right now. They look so much like an animals in this costume, I kinda look wild, untamed._

I was still looking at my reflection trying to believe it was really me. My red lips part as my white teeth peek out, with a smile big enough to rival the Cheshire Cat. I turn to Sarah and hug her. "It looks great! Thank you. All of you." I turn and hug each of them.

They are all shocked but Sarah recovers first. "We were only doing our duty, Phoenix. There is no need to thank us."

"Well, you could have been doing something else more productive than getting me ready for the party. After tonight, you'll have nothing to show for what you've done." I say.

"Oh, we will. I wonder how many magazines and papers you'll be featured in?" Claire asks to no one in particular.

"WHAT!?" I somewhat scream.

"There will be tons of paparazzi outside the party. One, you'll be going on the arm of the prince, so of course they'll take pictures wanting to know who the mysterious beauty is with him. Though, two... You look stunning, even if you were going on your own, you'd draw _some_ attention." Natalie says with a huge smile.

I could feel my face turn red. "Huh, I thought I didn't put blush on your face." Sarah mutters.

I turn to see my reflection. Sure enough, it looks like I had something on my cheeks which made my face turn even redder.

"Okay. The last piece of the costume. The piece da la resistance! The claws!" Milly says opening a decent sized black box with silver designs on it. She popped up the lid. There were two pieces of black lace inside, and connected to them were ten pieces of curved, shining metal 'claws'.

I tentatively pick one up by the lace to see how it's made. I slip it on. The lace covers my knuckles and go to the joints in my fingers. Then there is string that is so translucent and thin you can't see them tied to the nails and lace. The metal covers my fingernails and is made with a ring underneath to keep them on my fingers. After I get the one on and flex my hand to inspect them, Claire takes my other hand and gets the other glove on.

"Are you guys sure about these. I feel like I could really hurt someone...or myself." I say gulping down my worry.

"They're fine. Besides what would a Catwoman costume be without her claws?" Natalie asks. "Just don't touch your face, dig your nails into anyone, or get into a fight." She says matter-o-factly.

"Oh, that's all?" I say sarcastically.

Natalie nods.

Sarah looks at her watch. "It's 4:45. You are going to see Princess Catherine before you leave, correct?"

"Yeah, I'll go see her, then go meet His Highness out front." I say and the maids give me a bow. I thought about telling them not to, but I knew it was worthless to bother. "Thanks again!" I call as I hurry out into the hall and run right into Luke.

"Watch i-" Luke started and stopped when he looked at me. "Miss Hendrickson?"

"Yes. How do I look?" I ask with a smile.

Luke swallows before answering, "You look v-very nice, Miss Hendrickson."

"Thanks! Could you take me to Princess Catherine's room please?" I ask, since I have yet to be there and had no idea where it was.

"Yes, f-follow me." _He seems a little shaken up. Probably the costume._ I silently follow behind him.

He knocks on the door and when we hear the "Come in," Luke opens the door and allows me to enter, then shuts the door behind me.

Cathy was sitting on the bed looking a little miserable, until she looked up at me. A huge grin plastered her face and she let out a giggle.

"What? Is it that funny for me to be dressed this way?" I ask with a smile.

Cathy nods and jumps out of her bed and wraps her arms around me, giving me a hug. "You look amazing. Better than the actual Catwoman." She says.

"Well, you know there have been several." I state.

"You're the best, by far!" Cathy beams looking up at me. She then lets go and starts circling me. I felt like I was the prey to her predator. "Yep, definitely the best! My brother made a wise choice." She says when she is in front of me.

"So will your brother be the Batman to my Catwoman?" I ask folding my arms in front of me. I feel a slight pain in my arm, and remember my claws. Cathy was watching me intently and noticed. She distracted herself with my claws. "These are so cool! I want a pair!" She was letting herself be completely fascinated with my gloves and claws.

"Cathy, you're avoiding the question." I state pulling my hand out of hers.

Cathy pushes her bottom lip out, and huffs. "I honestly don't know. If I know my brother, based on past experiences, I have an idea. But since he's changed some since you came, he might do the opposite of what I believe he'll do." She answers with this riddle.

"Then tell me what he's done in the past." I somewhat command.

Cathy shakes her head. "I don't want to get your hopes up." _What is that supposed to mean? That he won't be wearing it, so I'll already know and feel disappointed, then he might be. Or that she says he will, then when I see him he isn't, and I feel disappointed. Uhh! Curse my mind for thinking up all possibilities, and no actual answer!_

"Fine, I won't push." I say with a huff of my own.

"You better get going. My brother doesn't like to be late!"

"That was the first thing I learned about him." I say recalling getting myself covered in mud.

"Have fun! I want you to tell me all about it tomorrow! Music room during your break?" Cathy pleads with big eyes.

"Alright. Tomorrow." I say with a thumbs up and smile.

I hurry out to the front of the manse where I know the limo will be waiting. I open the door and peek out.

Prince Keith is standing outside looking at his watch. _He's in a SUIT?! He looks like himself! What's the point of going to a costume party and not dressing up as something you're not?! Especially, when you make your date dress up as a half of an iconic couple! AND then NOT be the other half! I swear, if there are Batmans there, I am totally going to teach him a lesson!_

I walk out of the door shutting it quietly and sneak up behind him. _This costume is starting to affect my behavior a little bit._ The closer I get the easier it is to hear him muttering about "Where is that aggravating woman at?" _OH, he IS SO in for it!_

I do the whole go-to-one-side-tap-the-other routine. He looks to his left, as I stand by his right side. Prince Keith looks over at me, and the shock on his face is priceless. He quickly composes himself.

"It's about time! How long do you expect me to wait for you?" His haughty attitude coming in at full force.

"What time is it?" I ask nicely.

"5:28." He states.

"I still had two minutes. So I'm early." I say putting my hands on my hips. I could tell he was assessing my appearance. "What are you supposed to be anyways?" I ask letting my anger come out in my voice some.

"Myself. Don't most people desire to dress as a royal?" He asks.

"Mainly girls. To be a _princess_." I emphasize. "Which, if you were going to be going as a prince, you should have dressed me as." I say.

"What's the fun in that? I wanted to see you in this." _Oh! If he wasn't a prince, I would so smack him for that!_

I clinched my fists and regretted it. _OW!_ I unclenched and looked at my palms. There were four indentions in each of my palms, luckily no blood.

I heard a muffled laugh. I snapped my head up at him, and saw he was holding the limo door open for me. _Sure, laugh while there's a door between us. I'll MAKE SURE you regret this later!_

I raise my head indignantly and get in without another incident. "Don't you know, the rule about couple costumes?" I ask as he gets in, still letting the anger tinge my voice.

"No, what's the rule?" He asks amused.

"Well, when a couple goes together to a costume party, they dress in coordinating costumes. Therefore, everyone at the party knows you are there together and others won't try to hit on you or your partner when separated." I get that far in my explanation when he interrupts.

"You're going with _me_. Everyone will know to leave you alone, without me having to dress as the other half." Prince Keith says smugly.

"You didn't let me finish. It doesn't matter, that you're my date. It always happens. When half the couple is dressed as an iconic couple, and someone else at the party dresses as the other half, they will seek out their match, thinking that they are there either with someone not in a serious relationship-kind of way or are unattached to who they came with. Therefore, they are up for grabs. And since you picked for me to be Catwoman, I will _bet_ you there is at least _one_ Batman at the party." I say.

"What do you want to bet?" Prince Keith asks interested.

_Hmm. What do I want to bet? OH! I know!_ "My freedom from my punishment." I say.

"Then if you're wrong, you'll have more time added on." He says, still amused, with his hand out.

_I feel like I'm making a deal with the devil. Sorry, Mom. At least its not my soul...I hope._ I take his hand and shake it. "Deal."

"This is going to make tonight more interesting." He mumbles under his breath and looks outside his window.

I turn and look out mine. I hadn't been anywhere outside the manse since I got here. I could finally see some of Liberty._It's beautiful. Especially with the setting sun as a backdrop._ I look out the window in fascination, unaware of the blue-green eyes watching me.

"Like what you see?" Prince Keith asks quietly.

I turn to see that he was directing his question at me. I give a small smile. "Yes. You have a very beautiful country. I'm sad I couldn't see that when I came here." It had been late at night when I arrived so all I could see was darkness, except for the city lights; which I wasn't in a state to take in the sights then, either.

I can tell I've shocked him by my words, and return to the window not to miss anything. _Man, I wish I had my sketchbook. This is perfect inspiration!_ Silence returns to the car.

I unconsciously start to click my nails on the door as I look out the window. I don't know how long I was doing it for, when a large hand grabbed mine and pulled it away from the door. I look over at Prince Keith who looks annoyed. "What?"

"Did you really not realize how annoying that is?" Prince Keith asks, still holding my hand awkwardly to avoid the claws. His hand was so warm. For some reason my heart started speeding up. _Why?! Why am I reacting to his every touch!?_ I pull my hand out of his, being careful not to scratch him.

"Sorry." I put my hands in my lap to avoid doing anything else with them.

"We're here." He says looking back out the window.

I turn to look out his window at the large mansion that we are approaching. "This is were the party is?" I ask. It was huge! Even from this distance, I could see the mob of cameramen and reporters._Oh no!_ I could feel my breath hitch and stop all together.

Prince Keith must have heard me, and turned to me with some concern in his eyes. "Breathe." He waited for me to take a breath. "What are you worried about?" He asks getting right to the point.

"Paparazzi." I say not looking away from the mob. He follows my eyes to the mob outside the window as we drive up.

He laughs a little. "That's nothing to worry about. Just be quiet and follow my lead." He says as the car stops and the door opens.

Prince Keith gets out and smiles to the crowd. He moves away from the door and holds his hand out to me, waiting for me to exit. I make my way out of the car, a little clumsily, and am blinded by all the flashes. I don't know how I found his hand, because I could barely see from all the lights and flashes of the cameras.

I can hear the reporters calling Prince Keith, wanting to talk to him about who I was, why he came, what was his costume, etc.

We had paused for some pictures. I was able to look up at his smiling face and actually see it. _This is Prince Keith on his best behavior_, _as Sarah said. _

When we finally make it inside, Prince Keith waits for me to let go. I was too busy blinking away the spots in my vision. "See, nothing to it. Now if you don't mind?" Prince Keith says shaking his arm that I'm holding onto.

"Huh?" I ask. I look down at his arm with my hands clinging on for dear life. "I'm so sorry! Did I hurt you?!" I ask removing my hands as soon as I realize he must be in pain.

"No. It could have been worse." He said inspecting his sleeve and seeing the ten little holes from my claws. "Plus, I asked for you to have actual claws, so it's my own fault." He says easily.

"What?" I ask. _He asked for my outfit to have claws?_

"Anyways, I'm going to go talk to people. Don't make a fool of me." He was back to his old self again.

_Oh, sure, I'm the embarrassment hazard...Who am I kidding?! I know it's one of my many annoying, yet endearing traits, as my mother and friends say. _

I shake my head and follow behind him into the grand ballroom. I see lots of people. Even though in costume, they all gave off an important air about them.

I watch as Prince Keith enters, and goes over to a group of gladiators and muses. They seemed to tense up when he reached them. _Must be hard, everyone afraid to upset him because he's their prince. _

I take a deep breath, and go down the staircase. I can feel a lot of eyes on me. Some are admiring stares, while others are straight up glares.

I swallowed. _Wow, I am thirsty. When was the last time I drank anything?_ I walk over to the refreshment table and take a glass of punch from the waiter stationed there. _Man, I wish I had someone I could talk with._

I turn back to the crowd and see the Batman symbol right in front of me. My eyes move up to see, indeed, that there is a nice looking (from what I can tell) man dressed as Batman. The costume reminded me more of the old Adam West version, only this guy was actually toned, and made it look better. I couldn't help the happy smile that came across my lips. "I told him this would happen." I mutter.

"What was that, Catwoman?" Batman asks.

"Hi, Batman. I just told my date that because he didn't dress up as you, that there would be a you, and that you'd come over to me." I say.

"Whose your date?" Batman asks.

"Prince Keith." I say evenly.

The look on his face was priceless. If you ever wanted to see Batman afraid, this was that moment. "Oh, look at the time, I think I hear Robin calling me." He walks away into the crowd. _Damn...he was right. Being with him is all the deterrent needed._

"Did you say you're here with Prince Keith?" A familiar woman's voice asked. _Where have I heard that voice before?_ I turn to see none other than Laura Nicholson, the actress, dressed like Marilyn Monroe. She was tall and lean. Her blonde hair was more of a yellow color, and she had green eyes, that looked angry. Which I completely overlooked, since I was starstruck.

"Yes. You're Laura Nicholson! I'm such a big fan!" I say with a smile not sure if I should shake her hand or not.

"Cute. ...Why did the prince bring _you_?" Laura asked, completely ignoring my fan moment, sounding like a total snob. _Okay, Lacey wasn't kidding. Laura is a bitch._

"Princess Catherine asked him to bring me in her place. She wasn't feeling well."Though, looking back on it, Cathy didn't seem too miserable._Maybe she's good at acting, like me. Whether she really was or faking._

"Oh, she shouldn't have bothered. The prince has _me_ here, this is my party after all. He didn't need to bring _you_." Laura said disdain filling her voice with her last comment.

"This is _your _house?! It's beautiful." I say not letting Laura get to me, though, I was starting to crack.

"Thank you. ...Where did he find you anyways?" Laura sure was persistent where Prince Keith was involved. Before I could answer she interrupted with, "Oh, well! It doesn't matter where you're from, who you are, or any of that. You don't _deserve_ to be in his presence, you're nothing but an ugly commoner." Laura says haughtily.

_RUDE! She can't even see half my face to make the claim that I'm ugly!_ Before I could talk back, Laura answered my thought. "You're wearing a mask. Only if you were ugly, would you be wearing one. Look at me, I'm beautiful and I'm not covering my face like you." She says with a smirk. _OH!That's it! You think you're pretty now? Wait til I get my hands on you! Then you'll need plastic surgery to be pretty again! _

I was about to lunge, claws out, when a man stepped up to us. "Laura, you really should be nice to your guests. Catwoman, would you mind keeping me company." A smooth male voice says. I was ready to turn and tell him to F*** off, when I saw that it was another Batman. Compared to the other one, this one was the Christian Bale one._TWO! There are at least TWO Batmans at this party! HA!_

"Whatever you say, Bats." I take his arm and let him take me away from Laura. She looked angry, but who cares.

"Thanks for saving me." I say as we walk to the other side of the room.

"What else is a hero for? Especially when a villainess is about to strike." Batman chuckled.

"Do you mean me?" I ask feigning innocence.

"Yes, you were, but Laura has you beat. She's one of the most evil people I know, and that's saying something." Batman says easily.

I couldn't help the smile and laugh that came.

"I did my job, I rescued you and put you back into a good mood for the party!" _This guy is great! I wanna know who he really is so we can be friends._

Before I could say anything else, the band had stopped and the guitar player spoke into the mike. "Ladies and Gentlemen, it's time for a Tango! Hopefully you all remember this song." He says and they start to play the opening of _Sexy Back _by Justin Timberlake._NO WAY!_

I look at Batman. "Can you tango?" I ask. He laughs and nods his head.

"Catwoman, would you do me the honor of being my tango partner?" He offers his hand.

"Yes!" I couldn't help the excitement pulsing through me. I haven't tangoed for such a long time.

He takes me out onto the floor and puts us smack in the middle. I realize as we get onto the floor that this is a planned dance with actual choreographed dancers! _Uh-oh._

"Don't worry. We don't have to match them, I was supposed to be the standout dancer among my students." He says putting us in the starting position. "Follow my lead."

"What other way is there in Tango?" I ask with a grin.

"You've trained in it, haven't you?" He states more than asks.

"Yep." My smile gets even bigger. _Prince Keith is going to have to see this and this is my lesson to him! I couldn't have planned this any better!_

Batman and I tangoed. I followed most of his leads, refusing only a few because I didn't want it to seem staged or that I would just follow him easily. That isn't what Catwoman would do.

"You said students, so are you a dance teacher?" I ask as we dance.

"Yes, I am. So how did you learn to Tango?" Batman asks.

"I had to learn a little for my part in a school play. I completely fell in love with it! We had to go to an actual studio to learn, and after the play, I signed up and learned every part of Tango." I inform him.

"I can tell. You're very good." Batman smiles.

"So do you only teach Tango?" I ask.

"No, I teach almost everything." I nod. "We should probably stop talking. Otherwise, I think the prince will interrupt the dance." Batman let out a laugh.

During some spins and turns, I could see Prince Keith watching. He started out angry, but as the dance progressed he seemed more surprised by the end.

As soon as the last note was played and we all did the dip to finish the dance, we were surrounded by applause. I felt a hand on my shoulder as Batman brought me back up from the dip. I knew from my reaction to the touch who it would be.

"May I have my date back?" Prince Keith asks sternly.

"Yes, Your Highness. You're very lucky to have such a talented date." Batman says, as he removes his hands from my waist and hand. Batman then bowed and excused himself.

Before I knew what was happening, Prince Keith was pulling me by my wrist outside into a private garden.

"Could you loosen your grip? You're starting to hurt me." I say as soon as we're outside.

He let go as soon as I was finished. "I thought you said you couldn't dance?" Prince Keith accused, folding his arms.

"I _never_ said I couldn't dance. What I told you was that I hadn't danced that type of dance before. I've never trained in classical ballroom styles, only style of dance that interests me or was required." I say matter-o-factly.

His eyes narrow at my comment.

"Also, in case you didn't notice, he was dressed as Batman. So, I win the bet." I say smugly.

"Yes, I noticed. Why did you so willing dance with him?" He asks a mix of anger and curiosity.

"Because I _love _to tango; it's my favorite style. Plus, you needed to learn your lesson." I say with a grin.

Prince Keith is surprised by my comment. "What lesson?!"

"The lesson about couple costumes. I _told _you it would happen, and it happened _twice_!" I say turning from him when I said that.

"I saw." Prince Keith says quietly.

"What?" I turn back to him surprised. "How? We were only talking for like a minute, and you were across the room?" I ask.

"What type of date would I be if I completely ignored you? Besides, you require constant supervision, unless I want a repeat of what happened at Noble Micheal's." Prince Keith says.

"Honestly, that's exactly the type of date I thought you were. Also, I know, I make mistakes. I'm human. Get over it! I never asked to come here!" I say, then turn on my heel, and walk back into the ballroom. I could feel the tears coming.

I know I shocked him with my words, and could hear his footsteps following me. _I don't care how, I'm leaving, and I'm not gonna let him stop me!_

As soon as I was inside, I quickly let myself get mixed in with the crowd of people. I was going to give myself every advantage I could think of, although, I wish I was in something less conspicuous. Luckily, I made it up the stairs without him catching me. Unfortunately, Laura was there at the top.

"What is going on between you and Prince Keith?!" Laura demanded when she saw me.

"Nothing." I say as I try to get past her. _I am barely keeping myself together, and she already put me in a bad mood once. I really have no tolerance for this bitch._

Laura grabbed my arm as I went past her. "Yes, there is. What happened out there between you two?"

"Let. Go. Of. Me." I practically hissed, and gave her one of my most hateful glares possible.

Laura was taken aback by that, and released my arm. "As I have told you, Laura. There is absolutely nothing going on between us! I don't even want there to be! Got it? He's yours. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm leaving!" I shoulder past her with my head held high._She is not going to make me feel inferior! _

"You little bitch!" Laura yelled, everything went quiet, and the next thing I felt was her grabbing the top of my mask and ripping it off.

* * *

**AH! My head hurts just thinking about that happening! Poor Phoenix, parties really aren't her thing.**

**So what did you guys think? Any favorite moments? What do you want to see happen next? I'll take ****_any_**** comments. So please please please review! I'd love to hear from you! Until chapter 8!**


	8. 8) Meeting Duke

**Chapter 8 is finally here! Sorry it's taken so long! But I'd like to thank the guest who reviewed the other day asking when I would update, because you helped give the push I needed to sit down and really focus on it. **

**I was a little stuck with where I wanted this to go, because Laura gets on my nerves! Then I got busy needing to get ready to go back to school. (I hate packing and moving! It's so annoying!) Plus I've gotten a little interested in writing a story for another fandom, so it's taken up some of my time, sorry! **

**Just so you know how I write: I don't start a chapter until I write and publish a chapter for the other story, then I start on the next one for the other one. So, I'll just now by starting on ****_Phoenix's Wil_**** chapter 7. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Be My Princess or it's characters(Princes, their Butlers, Kingdoms, Families, or friends). Only Phoenix, Noreric Kingdom and it's people, and the maids I've given names are mine. Also I get to add another OC to my list in this chaper! (Hope you like him!)**

**So without further ado, Chapter 8! Please enjoy and review!**

* * *

"AAAHHHH!" I scream in pain. I could feel my hair being ripped from my head.

Laura looked as if she'd seen a ghost. "It's you! You're the one who danced with Prince Keith at Noble Micheal Castle." Her eyes narrow in anger. "So is it true that you are his finance?!"

"Laura! What are you doing?!" Prince Keith demands as he comes up the stairs.

"Prince Keith?!" Laura looks shocked.

Prince Keith grabs my mask from her hand, and walks over to me. "Put this on. We're leaving." Prince Keith says roughly.

I hurriedly pull the mask back over my head; it didn't look great. I could feel my hair showing through underneath the mask, but all I could think about was my throbbing head.

Once my mask was on, Prince Keith grabbed my wrist and pulled me outside to the waiting car. The paparazzi flashed their cameras and asked endless questions, that were ignored.

I could tell from his grip on my wrist and posture, that Prince Keith was upset. _Uhh. I'm so in for it when we get into the car._

I look down at the ground as I'm pulled to the limo. Prince Keith opens the door, releases my wrist, and motions for me to get in. As soon as I'm in, the door shuts. Prince Keith gets in from the other side.

Once he shuts his door, I pull off my mask and gloves, then rub my head. As I run my fingers through my hair and rub my scalp, I freeze when I feel something warm and sticky. I pull my hand away to see my fingers are tipped with red. My eyes widen. _I can't believe I'm bleeding._ I feel the spot to determine how much was ripped out. _It feels like the size equivalent is smaller than a dime. _

"What are you doing?" Prince Keith asks, looking at me incredulously.

"I-I-" I still had my hand under my hair, so he doesn't know I'm bleeding. I bite my lip and look away. "Nothing." I quickly pull my hand into my lap and put my other hand on top of it for cover.

Prince Keith grabs my wrist with the bloodied finger tips and pulls it to his face. His eyes widen then narrow. "What happened? Why are you bleeding?"

"When Laura _ripped_ my mask off, she also grabbed some hair that came out with the mask." I say. "Do you have a handkerchief I could use?" I ask.

He wordlessly releases my wrist, pulls the handkerchief out of his jacket pocket, and places it in my hand.

"Thanks." I clean off my fingers and then put it to the spot on my head to help stop the bleeding. Luckily it was from my lower layer of hair, so it shouldn't be obvious.

After a couple minutes of complete quiet, I decide to get a conversation going. "So... Did Your Highness even have fun at the party?" I ask looking straight ahead.

"It wasn't too bad. Though you are quite the attention getter." Prince Keith says.

"Hey!" I turn to see him smiling. "I can't help it. I love Tango! And Laura started the other thing!" I turn to look away from him.

"What's so wonderful about Tango?" Prince Keith asks, he sounds genuinely interested.

"I'm surprised you don't know how. Honestly, everything about Tango fits your personality." I say.

"What?! I never said I didn't know how!" Prince Keith is indignant.

"Just a feeling. I'm right, right?" I smile.

"You still haven't said what you like about Tango." Prince Keith dodges the question. _I am _sooo_right!_

"Well, I love how the whole dance relies on the chemistry you have with your partner. It's what makes or breaks it. It's full of intensity and passion and the struggle of dominance. You have to have confidence in what you're doing, or else, in my case, your partner will end up on the floor in pain, too." I smile, and Prince Keith flinches. "Although, I only enjoyed and wanted to hurt my first partner. Anyways, the dance is about the man trying to lead the woman, and whether or not she will follow. It's also seen as a kind of forbidden romance between the dancers, fighting their attraction for their partner. Therefore, connection is everything. Even if on a personal level you aren't interested, then you have to fake it to the point it's believable by the audience." I tell him.

"Did you fake a connection with the Batman guy?" Prince Keith asks.

"Kinda. I could tell he was a good person, and he was a great dancer, so it wasn't hard to fake a connection. You don't have to know the person to make a connection, especially when dancing. If the partner is right, you just click." I say.

Prince Keith nods in agreement. "Yeah, I know that happens. Though, it hasn't really happened to me yet." He says.

"Really? I would think with all the parties you go to, that you've danced with a lot of women." I say.

"I have." He says, though, ironically there is no smugness or pride in his answer.

I tilt my head and look at him hard, trying to see what's wrong with him.

"What?" Prince Keith asks.

"I wouldn't have thought you could answer something like that and not sound proud about it." I answer.

"I've had plenty of women in my life, it's just that lately things aren't as appealing as they usually are." Prince Keith says honestly. "Did you enjoy the party?" Prince Keith says, changing the topic.

I think about it. "It was okay. It's not really my scene." _Although, I'm gonna need to make it my scene. Once the word's out that I'm a princess, I'll have to attend all sorts of events with snobby, fake rich people._

"Really the atmosphere didn't impress you at all? All the celebrities, the architecture, the food, even your dress. As a commoner and a woman, don't you dream of these kinds of events?" Prince Keith asks.

"It was all elegant, but I never really dreamed of that kind of thing. It's just that when we, more like you, arrived, people got on edge. They started putting on airs. It just made things feel off to me, and when something doesn't feel right, it's just wrong. Didn't you notice?" I ask.

"Really?" Prince Keith asks.

"Yes, they were trying to be more interesting for you, or were worried about what to say around you, as not to anger you. Haven't you ever had someone just tell you what's on their mind, and know that they're being completely honest with you? Even if it's something that upsets you to hear?" I ask.

Prince Keith laughs. "_You_."

"Huh?" I tilt my head.

"You're the only one, besides Cathy, who is completely honest with me." Prince Keith looks forward and I can see his bitter smile.

"Well, you should get used to it, because I don't intend on changing. I will tell you what's on my mind, even if it angers you." I warn with a friendly smile. _Talking with him like this, I could almost see us being friends. … I want to be friends with him._ I realize.

"I know. It was extremely annoying at first, but I've come to find it refreshing." Prince Keith looks out the window.

"Guess it was bound to happen." I say looking out my window. I can hear him chuckle. We become silent for a few minutes. I can't stand the silence, and I have a question on my mind, that was driving me crazy. "I'm sorry, if this is too personal, but who exactly is Laura to you?" I ask. Remembering the blonde's anger towards me. _If they were engaged, I'm sure there would have been something in the news. Though, I don't think she would have asked me about being his fiance, if she were. They don't seem to be friends. So it doesn't make sense. If she's only crushing on him, she has no right to go crazy on someone else who is with him._

Prince Keith sighs, "Other than an annoyance? She's the secretary's daughter, so we grew up together, though I would use the term 'friend' loosely where she's concerned. I've gotten used to her behavior, for the most part. I'm sorry that she hurt you tonight." I can hear the sincerity in his voice, and for some odd reason, my heart starts beating faster.

"I'm fine, really. It's not a big deal." I say.

Prince Keith stays silent for the rest of the trip back, and I don't push for anymore conversation.

~)~~~~

Prince Keith and I said our 'Good nights' after entering the Manse. Each going in our separate ways to our rooms. When I enter my room, I am greeted by Claire and Sarah, who help me out of my costume. They don't ask any questions, so they must have known I didn't want to talk about it.

Once out of the Catwoman suit, I pull on a tee shirt and pajama pants. I look through my clutch, that I brought with me from that first night, and find some Tylenol. After swallowing it, I crawl into bed and pass out, unaware of what was to come.

~)~~~~

I wake up at 7:30, and get changed into my uniform. I know I won the bet, but I'm big on routine, so I decided to work today as if nothing had changed.

I go and start working with the cooks in the kitchen. We make each royal family member's breakfast. Then I eat a quick bowl of cereal, before heading out to my next duty.

Next, I help Natalie and Claire clean four rooms. We chat about the night before, but they mainly talk about what the newspapers were saying about it, and just wanted me to describe the place and the people there.

Once all the rooms are clean, I head out to the garden to help the gardener. We talk about the flowers. He leaves me to tend to the last few flowers, when something comes up and he is needed elsewhere.

I had just finished the last potted plant, when I feel something behind me, watching me. I slowly turn to come nose to nose, with a dog, a really big dog. It looked to be a Doberman._I didn't think there were any dogs here at the Manse._

"Hi." I say, and look to see if there's a collar.

"Woof!" The dog, sits and I can hear the tail shaking. There was a green leather collar around it's neck. The tag was a gold pendant with the Alford family Crest on it. I pick it up and turn it around. 'Duke' and the Manse's address were on the back.

"Hi, Duke!" I scratch behind his ear, he smiles and lets his tongue come out. I haven't been around a dog in like four years; not since my dog at home, Lexi, died from old age.

Duke lies on his back, prompting me to rub his belly. I laugh, and continue the love session, unaware of two people approaching. Duke notices before I do, who freezes, before rolling over, and walks over to the two approaching men. I look to see Prince Keith looking bewildered along with a man I have never seen before, who also looks a little shocked. Though, the stranger seems more interested in me, than the dog.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness, I don't know what got into him." The man apologizes.

"It's fine. I just don't want it happening a lot. He's supposed to be fully trained, right?" Prince Keith looks at the man, who nods.

"Yes, he learned everything rather quickly. Maybe, he just caught this girl's scent and wanted to investigate. Is she new to the castle?" He asks.

"Yes. Maybe that's it." Prince Keith nods and pets Duke's head. "Alright, you can go." Prince Keith dismisses the man.

"Yes, Your Highness." The man bows and takes his leave.

Duke walks back over to my side, sits, and looks at me with a pleading look.

"What?" I ask the dog. Duke makes a whining sound. "Fine." I huff, and rub his head. Duke starts thumping his stubby tail against the pavement happily.

I hear laughter, and turn to see Prince Keith laughing at me with his dog. "What's so funny?" I ask, crossing my arm; which meant I stopped petting Duke, who looked displeased by this.

"You communicating with my dog. Are you a dog whisperer?" Prince Keith asks with a smile.

"Hardly. I could just tell he wanted to be petted." I say. "I'm a little surprised you have a _dog_, though."

"What? Did you think I'd have a pet lion?" Prince Keith asks still amused.

I blushed. "Well, not here at the Manse. I could see your family adopting one at the zoo, and claiming it as the family mascot."

It was Prince Keith's turn to blush and look surprised.

My eyes widen. "I'm right?!" I laugh, I couldn't help myself.

Prince Keith averts his eyes. "So why are you working? You won the bet. So you can leave whenever you want." Prince Keith put a hand behind his head, still not looking at me.

"I'm big on routine. So I decided to finish out the week. I'll leave sometime tomorrow. I just need to make some arrangements first." I answer looking at Duke, and scratching behind one of his ears.

"Oh. So you do intend on leaving soon then. I'm surprised you didn't leave this morning; you seemed to be so ready to leave when you first arrived." Prince Keith says honestly.

"I was. But that was before I really got to know everyone here. They're all such good people. You're lucky to have them working for you." I answer still concentrating on Duke.

"Hmm..." I could hear Prince Keith get ready to say something when Luke comes running from the Manse.

"Your Highness!" Luke calls as he approaches.

"What is it?" Prince Keith asks.

"It's bad news Your Highness. I've just received word from the Secretary of State."

"About what?" Prince Keith asks.

"It appears our largest bank has taken on too many bad loans and looks like it will fall!"

I stood frozen and shock, and could see Prince Keith's eyes widen in surprise.

"Our countrymen are in a state of panic... Please come with me. It will be best if you get the details from the Secretary." Luke says.

"Of course." Prince Keith answers. Luke turns to leave and Prince Keith follows, glancing back at me. "Duke, come." Prince Keith calls.

I look down to see that Duke is still by my side. The dog lowers his head, ears and tail drooped, and follows after his master.

* * *

**So what did you think? Do you like Duke? I thought Keith needed a companion.**

**Please review and let me know what you thought. I know this was a little on the short side for me, but I feel I got some good stuff in there, and I wanted to update as quickly as possible for you. Reviews make me happy and help keep me motivated to write for you!**

**So until Chapter 9! (Hopefully it won't take me so long!)**


End file.
